


Hermione Granger, The Girl Who was Pursued

by AngelusLorelei



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Female Friendship, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Multi, Mystery, Not Epilogue Compliant, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-11
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:54:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23108818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelusLorelei/pseuds/AngelusLorelei
Summary: Hermione Granger returns for her final year at Hogwarts hoping to re-establish some normalcy after the war. Instead, she finds herself pursued by a madman intent on ending her life. Add into the mix her fellow final year students and one very confusing Draco Malfoy.  This year promises to be anything but normal.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood/Rolf Scamander
Comments: 10
Kudos: 85





	1. Back to Hogwarts

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement. This wouldn't have been possible without you!
> 
> I am shooting for updates around every two weeks! It might be sooner, but if it looks like I will go over two weeks, I'll say so in my chapter notes!

Hermione Granger did not know what to expect when she apparated just outside of the Hogwarts grounds. When she had left in July the school was still teaming with witches and wizards working on reconstruction. The grounds had been marred by scorch marks and spell scars and littered with rubble. During the Final Battle greenhouses had been destroyed, the library roof caved in, and significant damage to the castle battlements had occurred. But once Harry had emerged victorious, there had been no shortage of volunteers to help with rebuilding. Shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade had reopened, homes were repaired, and Hogwarts’ reconstruction was project number one as far as the Ministry of Magic was concerned. 

Focusing on all the rebuilding was what kept Hermione going. Easier to focus on helping others than on her own demons. What Hermione wanted was normalcy. This was largely what made her decide to return to Hogwarts to sit for her N.E.W.Ts. After being awarded Orders of Merlin First Class and the Daily Prophet sensationalizing their war efforts, Harry, Hermione, and Ron could have any job they wanted. People were lining up to recruit them. But Hermione didn’t want anything she hadn’t earned and so, while Harry had entered Auror training and Ron had gone to Romania with Charlie, Hermione returned to school. One last year. One last time through Hogwarts. 

Hermione’s letter from Professor  McGonnagal had instructed her to arrive a day early before the semester began. She and the other so-called  eighth years would be meeting and settling in before the Welcoming Feast. A consideration of their unique status at the school. Hermione was expecting new rules and high expectations. All those returning would be doing so voluntarily and with the understanding that they were there for their exams. Hopefully, that meant they would be academically inclined and stay out of her way. Hermione was here to work. 

With her trunk levitating behind her and Crookshanks in his carrier under her arm, Hermione walked through the gates and onto the school grounds.  The grass looked nearly immaculate. Some of the trees were missing, destroyed in the battle. But overall it was much the same. Most of the rubble had been cleared and, to her delight, a new house seemed to have been built for Hagrid on the grounds. Circling around the castle she saw smoke coming from the hut’s chimney and a thriving pumpkin patch nearby. Though the precious plants in the damaged greenhouses had been lost, all but one had been rebuilt in her absence. The quidditch pitch was nearly finished with new stands. The library roof was completely fixed and shingled. Overall everything looked back to normal. But inside the castle was a different story.

Once inside the entrance hall, Hermione could see repairs were still needed. Many of the gargoyles and ornamental stone pieces were missing or broken. Several portraits in the entrance hall were gone with outlines around their newly bare spaces. But before she could explore the castle further, a house elf appeared with a pop.

“Pardon me Miss Granger! Are you needing help with your trunk?” 

“Oh, no thank you. I was told we just leave them here?” 

“Yes Miss! Headmistress wishes for everyone to meet in the Great Hall for tea at two.” 

“Thank you… erm” 

“Gordie  M iss!” The elf smiled, “If you are needing anything, please let us know!” 

The elf disappeared with another pop. Glancing to her left, Hermione saw that some other trunks had been left near the doors. She smiled when she saw the trunk labeled, N. Longbottom and the one with S. Li. Good old Neville had decided to come back and Su Li was a Ravenclaw who had been in Hermione’s arithmancy classes. With a few hours to kill before she needed to meet McGonagall for tea, Hermione let Crookshanks out of his basket and decided to explore the castle. It was deathly quiet without any other students around. 

Hermione found herself walking towards Gryffindor tower out of habit. But as she neared the old Charms classroom, she found her breaths coming quicker. She took a wrong turn at the statue of Barnabas the Barmy and found herself face to face with a human-sized scorch mark burned into the stone. Suddenly she could smell the smoke, the burning of flash. Turning on her heel Hermione hurried away. The walls were closing around her, someone was screaming. Hermione’s breathing came faster and faster until she was gasping. Legs shaking, she sat on the staircase she’d been climbing and let out a dry sob. Rocking back and forth she began repeating to herself again and again,

“I can do this. I can do this.”

At ten minutes to two, Hermione stood outside the doors to the Great Hall. Taking deep breaths, she pressed a hand to her stomach.

_ I am calm. I am safe. I am calm. I am safe. _

Then moving suddenly, Hermione pushed the doors open. _ Screaming, crying, the smell of dust and blood. HARRY!  _ But then she blinked, and it was different. Hermione blinked once, twice and then looked up. The same enchanted ceiling, the thousands of floating candles, the house banners, all there. This was the Great Hall. But rather than the four long tables, there were dozens of round tables, ten chairs at each. Professor McGonagall was laying out plates of biscuits on one of them. Looking up, the headmistress caught Hermione’s eye. 

“Hermione! So good to see you! You have no idea how pleased we all were when we heard you were coming back for your final year.”

Smiling at the warmth in her professor’s voice, Hermione made her way to the designated tea table. 

“Professor! The castle looks amazing! You’ve all made such progress!”

“Oh yes! The volunteers have been most enthusiastic.”

McGonagall sat down and gestured for Hermione to do the same. Taking the seat her professor indicated would put Hermione’s back to the doors. Glancing behind her, Hermione paused for only a few seconds before taking a seat. Her wand was safely holstered on her arm, up her sleeve but she checked it anyway. Before she could say anything else, McGonagall was standing and smiling at someone over Hermione’s shoulder.

“Mr. Longbottom! Welcome back!” 

Neville looked like he might have grown another inch taller. He looked fit and pleased to be there.

“Hey Hermione! I didn’t know you were back!”

Standing, Hermione gave Neville a hug, “Just got back today actually. How’re the greenhouses? Looks like you got them ready to go!”

Neville grinned and took the seat next to her, “Oh yeah we’ve been working hard! Lost some of the plants but loads of the old wizarding families donated cuttings or whole specimens. So, we actually aren’t too worse for the wear.”

And one by one the other 8 th year students started to arrive. Susan Bones and Su Li came nearly at the same time. Ernie MacMillan arrived puffed up and feeling important with the Head Boy badge pinned to his chest. And then, to Hermione’s shock, the Slytherins arrived. Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson arrived together. Theo was nervous and looked quickly away when Hermione made eye contact. Pansy, however, walked in brazen as you please and primly took a seat at their table.

“Granger.” She nodded.

“Parkinson.” Hermione replied coolly, “Tea?”

Pansy nodded and accepted the proffered cup. Another Slytherin girl entered the hall, with brown hair pulled into French braids. Pansy stood and excitedly greeted her. 

“Tracey! You came!”

Eventually, they were all seated and taking tea. There were a few awkward minutes of silence, but McGonagall filled them in nicely by asking after family and highlighting student interests. There was one empty chair at the table and whoever was meant to occupy it was running very  late. Finally, at half-past two, Professor McGonagall turned in her seat towards the door. Before Hermione could turn to see who it was, Ernie was on his feet drawing his wand.

“Draco Malfoy!” 

Ernie had shouted and Neville mirrored his actions. Though she didn’t stand, Hermione slid her wand into her hand under the table. 

“Mr. Macmillan! Mr. Longbottom! Sit down at once and put those wands away!” 

Professor McGonagall’s voice was firm and had an edge of anger.

“But Professor – “

“Sit!”

Once Ernie and Neville were back in their seats, Professor McGonagall stood and gestured to the empty chair.

“Mr. Malfoy do come in. Please sit.”

Pansy scooted over to make room for him and patted the empty chair invitingly. Hermione rolled her eyes and Pansy glared at her in return. As Draco walked toward them, Hermione took in his condition. For someone who had recently been on trial he looked disgustingly well. Not one blonde hair was out of place, his shoes were Italian leather, and his clothes were as fine as ever. But the swagger she had come to expect was gone. Malfoy didn’t make eye contact with her or any of the non-Slytherins. Despite Pansy’s welcome and tight smiles from Theo and Tracey, Malfoy’s eyes were hard. He seemed somehow both intently focused on and removed from all of them. Separate.

_ Well _ , Hermione sniffed and started buttering a roll,  _ all the better for me. The last thing I need is a strutting prancing Draco Malfoy.  _

But despite this thought, Hermione found herself hyper-aware of him. She was fixated on his hands as he fixed his tea. His fingers were long and  well-formed, but his hands shook when he tried to pour milk into his tea. He set the milk down firmly and stared into his cup, glaring at it.

“Well,” Professor McGonagall began, “that is everyone. Welcome back for your eighth and final year.”

Hermione looked around the table surprised. This was it? These were the only people from her year who volunteered to come back? Before she could dwell on that too much, Professor McGonagall continued,

“While I am sure you all know each other, I think it would be best if we all went around and introduced ourselves. Hermione? Please begin.”

With all eyes on her, Hermione quickly and clumsily rose to her feet.

“H-hermione Granger.”

Cheeks flushed pink she sat down just as quickly. Without standing, Su Li introduced herself. The only other person Hermione didn’t know was the dark-skinned Ravenclaw girl next to Su. This was quickly remedied as she introduced herself as Morag MacDougall. Pansy and Tracey said their names. Theo Nott raised his chin almost in a challenge when he introduced himself and Ernie made sure to puff out his chest so they could see his Head Boy badge. Finally, they made it to Malfoy. He smirked and then caught her eye. Staring directly at her, he introduced himself, “Draco Malfoy. Ex Death Eater. Pleased to meet you.”

His gaze was intense, and Hermione lowered her eyes first. She clutched her wrist under the table.  _ What in the world was that? _

Professor McGonagall didn’t acknowledge Malfoy’s strange declaration. Instead, she folded her hands and addressed them all in her crisp voice. Hermione couldn’t help but notice that all their backs straightened as they gave McGonagall their full attention. Hermione felt a giggle bubble  up; McGonagall had never needed to try to exert her authority over her students.

“Now then, as you all are aware, you are here for your final year at Hogwarts. Some of you are in fact repeating this final year. N.E.W.T.s will be administered as usual and you will all be attending classes with the seventh years. Often you will be in classes together and I trust you will all act like adults and not like a pack of wolves!”

Here she paused and stared at them each meaningfully.

“The reason I have asked you all here a day early is not only because of your unique situation as students but also because all of you have been touched by the war. Some of you fought in it, some of you have lost family and friends, and all of you have been personally affected by it. This year, we will be instituting some changes here at Hogwarts. One of them you have already seen.”

Gesturing to the Great Hall she continued, “When rebuilding we have considered inter-house unity. These round tables will be used instead of the traditional house tables. We want to encourage all students, including you, to put aside differences and try to find common ground. I expect all of you to set a proper example and encourage this in your fellow students.”

Someone scoffed but Hermione didn’t catch who it was. But considering McGonagall’s scowl, it looked like it had been Morag. Quailing under the Headmistress’s glare, Morag quickly looked away mumbling an apology. 

“Due to your unique status as eighth years, you will not be residing in your house dormitories.”

This made Hermione gasp in alarm. Ignoring Hermione’s outburst, McGonagall explained,

“ While you will be attending classes with your housemates, we have instead created a fifth dormitory for you. You will all share a common room and you will each have your own private bed room. Luckily the old magic of the castle protected the house common rooms and dormitories from too much damage. So, if you wish to join your housemates in their common room, you are welcome to do so. Now then if you are all finished with your tea, please follow me.”

They all  stood, and Professor McGonagall lead them up several flights of stairs and through corridors. Trying to follow their progress, Hermione guessed they were somewhere on the third floor, funnily enough, near where Fluffy had guarded the Philosopher’s Stone their first year. Finally, they stopped before a massive painting. It was a landscape depicting a rolling field. In it a sunny looking blonde girl was carrying a basket of brightly colored flowers. She smiled at them all and waved. 

“Hello! I’m  Angharad! I’ve never been a guardian portrait before! I’m quite excited to meet you all!”

A few of them mumbled hello and Hermione couldn’t help but smile. Angharad’s enthusiasm was contagious. Professor McGonagall said the password, (“unity”) and the portrait swung open. As she entered, the first thing Hermione noticed were the floor to ceiling windows that gave them a view of the Black Lake.  Different kinds of plants decorated the room, vines clung to the beams of the ceiling, cactuses were on the end tables, and roses bloomed over the fireplace. The chairs were large and squishy reminding Hermione of Gryffindor’s common room and the walls were a lovely grey stone. All the furniture was in cream and purple with rich mahogany wood. Two doors in the far-right corner lead to the girls’ and boys’ sides respectively.

“The elves have already moved in your things so please make yourselves comfortable. If you need anything one of the elves should be able to find me. Dinner will be served at six in the Great Hall.”

And with that, Professor McGonagall left, and they were all left staring at one another in silence. Hermione sighed,  _ so much for normal _ . 

All the eighth years stood in the common room in various states of unease. Pansy was the first to break the silence. Flicking her black hair over her shoulder, she said loudly,

“Well, I for one am going to see what these private bedrooms look like.”

Privately, Hermione was very curious about them too. Students always roomed together at Hogwarts based on their year. Though, considering Pansy and Tracey would have been her roommates, she probably should count herself lucky to get her own room. Tracey followed Pansy and Morag and Su drifted to the bookshelves opposite the large windows. Clearing his throat, Ernie announced,

“Well being that I’m Head Boy, I had better get started working on patrol schedules!” And he left out the portrait door for parts unknown.

“Surprised you’re not going to get started on your Head Girl duties Granger.”

Hermione jumped. She was fairly certain the Theodore Nott had never said more than two words to her. But there he was, sitting down and speaking to her like they were old friends. Two could play at that game. Sniffing delicately, Hermione sat in one of the chairs across from him. 

“Well, it would be pointless as I’m not Head Girl.”

Both Theo and Neville looked shocked.

“Hermione Granger not Head Girl?! Someone ought to alert the Daily Prophet.”

Rolling her eyes Hermione crossed her arms, “Hardly. I turned it down.”

Theo looked confused, “Why?”

Hermione shrugged and gave him the simple answer, the answer he’d probably expect. 

“I need all the time I can to study for N.E.W.Ts.”

Reaching into her magically extended beaded bag, she pulled out a notebook already filled with color-coded tabs. In her swottiest voice, she continued,

“Of course, now I’ll have to consider any changes that McGonagall is making to scheduling to accommodate this new ‘inter-house unity.’”

“Save us the start of your newest crusade Granger! Some of us have better things to do.”

Pansy had returned and she settled on the arm of Theo’s chair. Shoving her notebook back into her bag, Hermione marched off to find her bedroom. Once in the girls’ side, she let out a groan. The wooden doors all had their names written in a glowing golden script. Hermione’s room was right next to Pansy’s. Grumbling to herself, Hermione flung her door open with a bang and then slammed it behind her. She leaned against the door and took her deep breaths.

_ I am calm. I am safe. I am calm. I am safe. _

Feeling more grounded, she opened her eyes. Her room had a little slit window that let in a decent amount of light. There was a little bed identical to the one she’d had in the Gryffindor tower with a matching nightstand. But rather than scarlet and gold, it had a purple coverlet and cream sheets following the theme of the common room. A small wardrobe, a mirror, and a washstand were the other furniture in her room. Her trunk had been brought up as had Crookshanks’s case. Crookshanks himself was already curled up in her bed purring. Hermione shook her head, of course, her familiar had already found his way up. Hermione was suddenly exhausted. Setting her purse on the nightstand she let herself fall face first into bed. Before she knew it, she was asleep.

***

When Hermione woke up light was shining through her bedroom window. Her hair was plastered to the side of her face and she had drooled into her feather pillow. Sitting up, her stomach growled loudly. Crookshanks appeared to have let himself out in the night so Hermione pulled her hair into a rough ponytail and made her way into the common room. She had been intending to go to the kitchen for some breakfast but was surprised to see two elves carrying trays.

“Good morning Miss!” the male  elf  squeaked, “We is bringing you all some breakfast! It is not much but we is very busy preparing for the feast tonight.”

Thanking them both, Hermione sat down at the enlarged table and helped herself. There were apples, oranges, toast with butter and jam, and croissants. Coffee and tea were provided with milk and sugar. As Hermione was peeling an orange, Tracey Davis entered the common room.  Hermione was surprised to see that Tracey was wearing muggle sweatpants and a track jacket.

“I wasn’t expecting anyone to be awake yet,” Tracey mumbled, sitting down and fixing herself some coffee.

“I- I don’t know that we’ve ever met.” Hermione began sounding more helpless and awkward than she’d intended.

“Not really.” Tracey agreed cautiously.

“Are you … close friends with Pansy?”

Tracey actually laughed, “Not until last year. But then again,”  here  Tracey frowned, “A lot of things changed last year.”

Hermione nodd ed nibbling on her orange slice. Tracey took a deep breath and then dove in,

“I’m surprised you’d want to come back. I was at the Final Battle, things got… intense. It was hard enough coming back on my own. So, I can’t imagine how you’re doing it.”

“You were at the Final Battle?”

Tracey frowned at Hermione’s shock, “I know everyone thin ks we’re evil, but I’m a half-blood. Trust me when I say last year with the Carrows was no walk in the park. So yeah,” Tracey glared, defensive, “I was there fighting with your lot.”

Hermione didn’t know how to respond to that.  So, she just said,

“I’m glad you were there then.”

They both ate in silence until Hermione finally stood from the table. When Tracey shot her a curious look, Hermione simply said,

“Going to Hogsmeade. Errands.”

Nodding, Tracey returned to her breakfast.

“If anyone asks, I’ll tell them.”

“Erm, thanks, Tracey.”

Using Tracey’s first name earned Hermione a small smile. “No, thank  _ you _ Gra- Hermione.”

*** 

The rest of the day passed in a blur. Hermione went to Hogsmeade and to the post office. She’d had her mail on hold and informed the witch behind the counter that all her post could be forwarded to Hogwarts. Then she spent a couple of hours in Tomes and Scrolls browsing and reading anything that caught her fancy. Su Li entered the shop later but if she saw Hermione, she didn’t say hello. Around lunch Hermione went to the Three  Broomsticks and had some roast chicken and a butterbeer.  Finally, she made her way back to the castle to change for the Feast.

The day of reading and relaxation had made Hermione feel much more like her old self. She hummed to herself as she changed into her school uniform and tried to do something with her hair.

“Might be best if you braid it dear.” The mirror suggested.

Shrugging, Hermione took the mirror’s advice and meandered down to the common room. When she left the portrait to head to the Great Hall the chattering of all the students grew louder as she made her way down to the first floor of the castle. At the top of the steps of the entrance hall she heard a shout,

“Hermione!”

Grinning, Ginny Weasley waved and rushed up to her. A silence fell over the entrance hall and every student stopped to stare. Hermione felt her face flush but tried to ignore everyone but Ginny. Unfortunately, when she started walking down the stairs to meet the red-head  slow applause began and built to a crescendo. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me...” Ginny muttered. Then, making a face that had her looking distinctly like the twins, she grabbed Hermione’s hand and started elbowing through the crowd.

“Make way you lot! Just want to get into the Hall!”

Once they’d pushed their way inside, Hermione spotted Neville and Luna sitting together at one of the new round tables. Immediately making a beeline for them, Ginny pushed Hermione into a chair before sitting heavily herself.

“You’d think they never saw a war hero before.” Neville joked half-heartedly.

“You get the hero’s welcome too?” Ginny huffed, “And what’s with the tables?”

“It’s for an inter-house unity initiative.” Hermione responded

“Well I rather like them.” Luna smiled, “It’ll be nice to sit with friends.”

There weren’t any more embarrassing moments during the rest of the feast. The new first years were sorted into their respective houses and Hermione and Neville caught Ginny and Luna up on what life was going to be like for the eighth years. Once dessert had been finished, Professor McGonagall rose to her feet. The chatter immediately stopped.

“Welcome back to Hogwarts. For those of you who lived through the… the unpleasantness of last year, I wish to commend you for your bravery and resilience in the face of adversity. A few announcements to begin the year.

You will note that parts of the castle have been roped off for repairs and maintenance. All students are to avoid these sections of the castle. It can be  dangerous, and you are not to get underfoot of our generous volunteers. 

As always, the Forbidden Forest is off-limits to all students unless under direct staff supervision. As you all know, there are still Death Eaters at large and students are to keep to the grounds and curfew will be strictly enforced!”

This last comment sparked a flurry of whispers and movement. Hermione frowned. She’d been under the impression  that the most powerful Death Eaters had been captured and imprisoned. 

“Yaxley, Avery, and some others are still out there.” Ginny whispered to Hermione, “Harry’s been working with the Aurors to track them down.”

“We also have a few new staff members to introduce.” McGonagall continued slightly louder than before causing all the whispering to stop.

“Please give a warm welcome to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Hestia Jones!”

Hestia Jones stood and smiled warmly at them all as they all dutifully applauded.  Once Hestia had sat down again, McGonagall gestured farther down the staff table and continued,

“And we have a very special guest this year Mr. Rolf Scamander. Mr. Scamander will be assisting Professor Hagrid teaching Care of Magical Creatures and working on some personal research. I expect you all to treat him with the same respect you would any of your other professors.”

Rolf Scamander was tall with curly brown hair and was incredibly handsome. He stood and gave a short wave to them all.

“Merlin,” Ginny whispered, “he’s gorgeous!”

To Hermione’s surprise, Luna giggled.

“Finally, w e expect all students to put aside any former conflicts and work towards a more united  time ahead .  You are all here to learn and we expect that you will all cooperate to earn house points, study, and make this year a peaceful one. That said, t his year we will be planning and holding several special events for fostering inter-house cooperation and unity.  Anyone interested in volunteering for event planning and execution should speak with their heads of house. That is all!”


	2. Yesterday's News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well with the Covid-19 lockdowns, I am at home and am posting this one up early. Thank you to everyone who read and to those who left kudos!
> 
> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement. This wouldn't have been possible without you!
> 
> I am shooting for updates around every two weeks! It might be sooner, but if it looks like I will go over two weeks, I'll say so in my chapter notes!

Hermione’s wish for normalcy  initially  appeared to have been granted. The first day of school began as always. Breakfast in the Great Hall, delivery of mail, and then to classes. It was what happened between classes that threw a wrench in her plans. Everywhere Hermione went she was followed by stares, whispers, and pointing. 

Being friends with Harry Potter for eight years had given her a taste of this of course. But now, now even without Harry, she appeared to be famous in her own right. Absolutely ridiculous! Didn’t anyone have anything better to do? Even in the library, the whispers followed her. Students camped out at near - by tables pretending to study. Hermione was certain things couldn’t get worse for her  concentration . But then Hermione made what  might have been the  biggest mistake of her life.

Early on a Wednesday morning ,  a first-year Hufflepuff was lost and wandering around near the entrance hall.  Since the poor girl seemed ready to cry, Hermione stopped to ask her if she needed help. With tears in her eyes the Hufflepuff nodded, ‘yes’ and please couldn’t Hermione show her the way to the greenhouses? Conjuring a handkerchief from thin air, Hermione helped the first year dry her eyes and kindly began showing her the way. Unfortunately, once her eyes were dry, the Hufflepuff saw just who was helping her. Suddenly Hermione was being asked dozens of rapid-fire questions and had an eleven-year-old girl clinging to her arm.

Luckily for Amanda (that was the girl’s name) and unluckily for Hermione, Hermione had a free period and couldn’t think of an excuse to brush the girl off. Instead, she ended up walking Amanda all the way to her herbology class and half answering questions. No, Harry Potter did not kill a thousand Death Eaters. Yes, Hermione could produce a corporeal Patronus. Yes, Ron Weasley was Ginny Weasley’s  brother . And so on until they arrived at Green House One and Hermione was able to finally reclaim her arm. Amanda cheerfully yelled,

“Thanks Miss Hermione!”

And Hermione kindly waved back and left. Unfortunately, once Hermione had shown herself helpful and approachable, she couldn’t take a single step without bumping into a curious or grateful younger student. 

“I can’t get them off of me.”

Hermione groaned to Ginny in the eighth-year common room. Covering her face with a squishy purple pillow, Hermione indulged in the scream she’d been holding back since Monday.

“Well, you are a war hero. The Brains of the Golden Trio.” 

Ginny’s attempts at levity just made Hermione glare at her.

“I can’t get a thing done! It was bad enough before but now I can’t turn around without someone asking me something. A fourth-year asked for my  _ autograph _ . My  _ autograph _ Ginny!”

“I guess they should all be happy you turned down the Head Girl post. Otherwise,  I bet you’d be docking points and giving them all detention.”

Hermione groaned, “I just want to study!”

“Well, helping the baby Hufflepuff was your first mistake.”

Hermione jumped in surprise as Tracey Davis sat down with them, 

“Everyone knows you can’t help the little buggers or the next thing you know you’re drowning in them. It’s like trying to keep a galleon from a niffler!”

Hermione glared, “They teach you this in Slytherin? How to be mean to children?”

Tracey wasn’t even slightly put off, “Nah. How to Be Mean to Children 101 was taught by Professor Snape and he was all about making them cry. This is just, How to Mind Your Own Business and Get Things Done. School of Tracey Davis.”

That got a laugh out of both Hermione and Ginny. Tracey continued,

“What you need is a way to become invisible or terrifying. Or both.”

Ginny grinned, “Hermione  _ is  _ terrifying. Haven’t you ever seen her during finals weeks?”

“True.” Tracey nodded, “And we all know you’ve got a solid right hook.”

Hermione stared until Tracey shrugged, “Come on, you think Draco Malfoy  _ didn’t _ go ‘round complaining that you broke his precious nose third year? Cheer up, Granger! Soon enough you’ll become yesterday’s news. Just try to be as boring as possible.”

And Hermione tried. She kept her head down, she spent all her time working, she made all answers to questions short and as monosyllabic as possible. But then the fan mail started. Early on  Tuesday  morning, their second week back at school, Hermione’s held mail arrived. It took six eagle owls carrying two sacks of mail to get it all to her. The sacks were dropped with a loud, wet THWACK in the middle of the breakfast table. Hermione was showered with milk and with scrambled eggs and she let out a very undignified shriek. 

“What in the world?!” Ginny so helpfully commented before opening one of the sacks. “Merlin it’s FAN MAIL!”

Ginny then proceeded to dump letter after letter interspersed with the odd package all over breakfast. To Hermione’s horror, the commotion was enough to attract Tracey and Morag over.

“Blimey Hermione!” Morag sat down and started going through the letters with flicks of her wand, “All this is just for you?”

“Don’t touch any of it!” Hermione squawked remembering her brush with bubotuber pus fourth year.

“Why not?” Luna queried, already opening a letter, “This one is a thank you letter from Goric Florty in St. Mungo’s. Look he’s drawn you a picture!”

“Well… that one is rather cute.” Hermione admitted.

“Ooo this one’s a marriage proposal!” Ginny giggled, causing Tracey to snatch the letter.

“Oh gross! He’s included a photo!”

“Do you think he was born like that or was there an accident?” Morag asked wrinkling her nose.

“Definitely an accident.” Luna nodded, “Perhaps he was attacked by rogue skeevers. They often try to nest in thick bushy beards you know.”

“Luna…. I think that ’ s chest hair.”

“Oh my…”

Hermione snatched all the mail she could get her hands on and shoved them back into their burlap sack. 

“It isn’t funny!”

“Oh, it definitely is.” Ginny grinned, “But you are right, we should be careful opening it.”

“We?”

“Oh yes ‘we.’” Ginny patted her hand, “After all what kind of friends would we be if we let you go through all this mail yourself.”

“I could bring snacks to the eighth-year common room after dinner.” Luna offered airily, “How do you all feel about eclairs?” 

“Brilliant.” Tracey clapped her hands together and a house-elf appeared.

“Yes, miss?”

“Hullo!” Tracey said brightly, “sorry to bother you, but could you please bring all this mail to Miss Hermione’s room? Or rather,” Tracey glanced at Hermione whose face clearly  telegraphed her thoughts of murder, “put it in my room for safekeeping. Thank you!”

Before Hermione could protest, the elf apparated away with her mail. Sputtering Hermione felt Ginny and Tracey take her arms,

“Come on then. Wouldn’t want to be late for Slytherin-Gryffindor potions, would we?”

And with that, Hermione was led away while Luna and Morag waved to them merrily. They all went through the mail together that night after homework since Hermione  _ insisted _ . She received six marriage proposals, thirteen packages containing various homemade foods, five containing books, and the rest were a hodgepodge of thank you’s and job offers. Hermione had to admit having all the girls help her made things much easier. Especially as Morag happened to have a toadstone ring letting them know if anything was poisoned.

“You’ll have to come up with a spell to sort through all of these,” Tracey commented, late into the night.

“Well let’s hope this is all of it.”

“Oh Hermione,” Ginny shook her head, “If Neville’s been getting them all summer, there is no way this is the last of yours.”

And unfortunately, Ginny was right. Every morning Hermione received at least twenty letters or packages. When Hermione wrote to Harry about it in amusement, she received a short response telling her to watch out for the “nutters.” 

“Nutters?” She muttered to herself, “Surely not.”

But unfortunately, once again, Hermione found herself proven wrong. She started receiving a smattering of letters from very, determined or desperate fans. Once she received a letter with a tracking spell on it, she asked Professor McGonagall if her mail could be rerouted to the common room so that she could go through it with detection spells. Professor McGonagall was happy to oblige and seemed a bit worried that these things were getting around the protection and detection spells of Hogwarts. Between the mail and the star-struck students, Hermione was ready to tear her hair out. That is until she noticed something interesting : no one was talking to Draco Malfoy.

Well, that was slightly inaccurate. Pansy and Theodore Nott were talking to Draco Malfoy. Everyone else was avoiding him like the plague. Even in the crowded hallways, Malfoy had a two-foot bubble around him. It was almost as though he’d cast repelling charms on himself. No one made eye contact with him and people scrambled to get out of his way. Anybody around him spoke in hushed tones and he wasn’t bothered by anyone. Hermione was almost envious. But then she noticed that Draco  also  wasn’t receiving  _ any  _ mail. Which surely had to be a mistake. Malfoy had received daily deliveries of sweets from his mother for years. And though those had stopped by the fourth year, he still had received regular correspondence from both his parents throughout his time at Hogwarts. But those letters seemed to have stopped. Determined to get to the bottom of this, Hermione found herself reading back issues of the Daily Prophet in the library. It seemed she had missed quite a bit while she’d been away that summer.

Draco’s trial had been heavily covered by the media. As the “Youngest Death Eater” he had attracted a mixture of pity and hatred. Opinion letters were published almost daily concerning him. Some people called for him to be released as he’d been underage during the majority of his “crimes.” Others yelled that he should have the book thrown at him. And Hermione was disturbed to find that there were many people who were advocating that  Malfoy  receive The Kiss.

In the end, it was a combination of three things that ensured Draco’s release with probation. The first was his age. He had been underage when Dumbledore was killed and hadn’t even cast the killing curse himself. The second was the testimony of Harry Potter who swore that by not identifying them at Malfoy Manor, he saved their lives. The third thing was the most interesting. Apparently, Severus Snape had removed and preserved several memories showcasing that Draco had been acting under duress. These memories had been kept in Gringotts until his death at which time, they were made available to Draco and by extension his solicitors. Since the memories were intact, clearly were not tampered with, and made admissible as evidence, the W izengamot was unable to convict him. Draco Malfoy had been released.

After his release, Draco disappeared from the media for about a month. The papers documented that raids had been made on the Manor while all the Malfoys were in prison. They also had half of their assets seized and those were being held in trust, pending the conviction of Lucius and Narcissa. Hermione was shocked to learn that not only had Narcissa’s trial been postponed repeatedly, but the woman was also still being held in the Max Security Wing  of Azkaban despite Harry’s constant efforts to have her moved. Both Narcissa and Lucius were being held in solitary confinement and were not being allowed visitors or mail. And this solved the mystery of Draco’s mail.

While Hermione didn’t feel the least bit bad about Lucius Malfoy being held in Max Security, the thought of Narcissa being held there rankled. It was common knowledge that Narcissa had lied to Voldemort’s face, thus saving Harry’s life. That alone should have warranted her being held in minimum security or even allowed her to have been released on  house arrest. But for some reason, she was still being held as though she posed a real threat. Why?

Hermione left the library after reading the most recent Prophet.  Lost in thought,  she  wasn’t paying attention to her surroundings. And just as she turned down the hallway the eighth-year dorm was on, there was an explosion. Hermione was thrown back against the stone wall and her ears were ringing. Blinded by smoke, Hermione desperately felt for her wand. Attacked! They were under attack! Oh Merlin! Where was Harry? Coughing, Hermione forced herself upright and felt for her beaded bag, she needed to find her healing potions. She needed to find them now! Suddenly she was aware of someone grabbing her and pulling her back, away from the danger. She heard a male voice cast  _ aguamenti _ . And a glass of water was pushed into her shaking hands. Gasping for air, Hermione tried to take a drink of the water but ended up coughing and spilling it all over herself. The  person  who had pulled her back was wiping her eyes with something soft and she could see again. Someone was screaming but not in terror.

When Hermione’s ears stopped ringing and she could see again, the first thing she saw was Pansy Parkinson standing over three younger students. Hands on her hips Pansy was shouting,

“What is wrong with you?! Setting off fireworks in the hallway?! Look what you’ve done!”

The other students were terrified in the face of Pansy’s rage. Hands on her hips, Pansy sounded like she was just warming up. 

“You could have killed someone! I ought to hex the three of you and leave you hanging from the astronomy tower! What houses are you in? I’ll have you all expelled!”

“Pansy, leave it.”

The younger students looked even more terrified if possible . Hermione looked up belatedly realizing that both Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott were flanking her. Malfoy  stood up and pulled his wand out. Glowering at the offenders  Draco snapped,

“I know you. You’re Greg’s cousin. Geoffrey.”

One of the small boys yelped and cowered behind his friend.

“Just perfect.” Pansy hissed, “As if we didn’t have enough problems.”

Pulling out her own wand, Pansy pointed it at them. “You could have killed Granger! Get up! I’m taking you lot down to Slughorn! See if he wants to save you. Are you okay Granger?”

Hermione was trembling, “Y-yes. I’m alright.”

“ No , you’re not.” 

It was apparently Theodore Nott who had pulled her back from the explosion.  Helping her to her feet, Theo put a hand on her arm.

“Can you walk?”

“I think so.”

“Come on then, I’m taking you to the hospital wing. Draco come with us. I’m not giving those little pissants the chance to try to blame this on you.”

And that was how Hermione found herself rescued by a trio of Slytherins.


	3. Healing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well with the COVID-19 lockdowns, I am at home and am posting this one up early. Thank you to everyone who read and to those who left kudos!
> 
> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement. This wouldn't have been possible without you!
> 
> I am shooting for updates around every two weeks! It might be sooner, but if it looks like I will go over two weeks, I'll say so in my chapter notes!

By the time they made it to the Hospital Wing, the adrenaline was wearing off and Hermione was gritting her teeth against the pain. She was fairly certain she had a sprained ankle and possibly a broken wrist. Breathing was painful and she was starting to almost hope Pansy did just hex the offenders and hang them from the astronomy tower. Since Theo was helping her walk, Draco was the one who pushed the infirmary door open. 

“Oh, Mr. Malfoy not again. Come in quickly and let me have a look at you.” 

“It isn’t me Madam Pomfrey, it’s Granger.” 

“Granger? Bring her in Mr. Nott! Quickly.” 

Theo helped Hermione clamor onto a hospital cot. Madam Pomfrey immediately began running several diagnostic spells. 

“You’ve definitely got a sprained ankle, sprained wrist, cracked ribs. What in Merlin’s name happened?!” 

“Some idiots set a firework off in the hallway. They nearly hit Granger with it.” 

Madam Pomfrey gasped and clicked her tongue. “Well, that explains this concussion Miss Granger. Please lay down. I’ll have to keep you overnight for observation.” 

Turning to Theo Madam Pomfrey asked, “Did you manage to see who did it this time?” 

“This time?” Hermione sputtered, “Have students started regularly setting off explosives?!” 

Draco and Theo exchanged a furtive glance before Theo answered Madam Pomfrey. 

“Pansy Parkinson took the lot of them down to Professor Slughorn’s office.” 

“A Slytherin student did this? Merlin’s name what’s next? No Miss Granger lay down immediately! I need to fix those ribs.” 

Hermione gasped when the mediwitch mended her ribs with a flick of her wand. She felt them heal and pop back into place. The sensation took her breath away. Madam Pomfrey wrapped Hermione’s sprained wrist and pushed a hospital gown into Hermione’s hands. 

“Get that on and then elevate your ankle.” 

Quickly pulling the curtain shut to give Hermione privacy, Madam Pomfrey bustled away to get some potions taking Draco with her. But it didn’t sound like Theo had walked away. Pulling her gown over her head Hermione asked, 

“What did she mean this time? Again?” 

Theo answered in clipped tones, “Just what she said, Granger. Or is that concussion worse than we thought? Having trouble hearing as well?” 

Hermione angrily pushed the curtain back and glared. Her appearance seemed to take some of the anger out of Theo. Sighing he sat heavily in a nearby chair. 

“Just get into bed Granger.” 

Hermione didn’t move despite her ankle throbbing. She refused to look away and Theo lowered his eyes first. 

“Look just get into the bed and I’ll explain. And put up your ankle!” 

Hermione propped her ankle up on some pillows and then crossing her arms, she said, 

“So?” 

Reaching under his glasses, Theo rubbed his eyes. 

“Slytherin House has been having some… problems.” 

“Problems?” 

Theo frowned, “Yes problems. Maybe you hadn’t noticed, but we weren’t the best-loved before. Now because of The War and You-Know-Who, things are even worse.” 

Hermione bit her lip and Theo leaned back in his chair, lifting the front legs off the ground. Just as she was about to snap at him, Theo dropped his chair back down and continued, 

“Look, every year the older students make the same kind of speech to the new ones in Slytherin. Watch out for each other, because no one else will.” He stopped Hermione’s protest with a raised hand, “I get it. You are one of the chosen favorites, so you don’t know. But don’t try my patience by saying you never noticed that Slytherin is disliked by the rest of the houses.” 

“Are you saying that Slytherin students are getting attacked? Outright attacked this year?” 

“Yes Granger, that is _exactly_ what I am saying.” He took a deep breath, “We’ve been back at school for about two weeks and Draco’s been to the infirmary over half a dozen times. His probation forbids him from using offensive magic and they’ve put a trace on his wand. And that fact was widely publicized. So, there are some students looking… for payback.” 

“But he didn’t do anything to them personally! It was the Carrows and-!” 

“I know that! I was here last year. I saw it all.” Theo shuddered, “You have no idea what they did to us. None. But they are in Azkaban and Draco is here. If someone must pay, why not him? Or by extension the rest of the ‘evil’ house?” 

“I had no idea…” 

“Why should you? Not your problem.” 

Theo’s hands were balled into fists and he was glaring at the ground. Hermione reached out and touched his left hand making him twitch. 

“But it isn’t right.” 

“Since when has that ever mattered?” Theo looked at her over the rim of his glasses. “But now you know. So, what are you going to do to those students?” 

“What?” 

“You know McGonagall will come asking you for your side of the story. So, what are you going to do? Have them expelled?” 

“Certainly not! I can’t,” Hermione paused realization dawning, then looked down her nose at him, “You know I can’t do that. Especially not now. Theodore Nott, you’ve manipulated me.” 

Rather than look abashed or even slightly ashamed, Theo grinned, “I am wounded! Manipulate? You? I never.” 

Without thinking, Hermione shoved him lightly, just as she would do if he were Ron or Harry. The friendly gesture made Theo’s grin grow wider. 

“Fine but you knew what I’d say, how I’d feel.” 

“I didn’t know. But I hoped. Look we don’t need you to make our house into a crusade. But someone should tell you “heroes” how it is, and Merlin knows no one else would.” 

“Fine _Theo_ , fair enough. But if I’m going to help your house,” Hermione smiled toothily, “You owe me.” 

“You learn fast _Hermione_. Alright, quid pro quo. Name what you want.” 

“Partner with me in Ancient Runes.” 

“That’s all?” Theo laughed loudly; the rich sound reverberated off the walls. “Okay deal!” 

And with that, Madam Pomfrey returned and hustled him out of the hospital wing. Draco left soon after but not before slipping something onto the nightstand. It was a handkerchief, clearly, the one used to wipe her eyes. And in the corner was embroidered: DLM. 

That night, Hermione didn’t sleep well. This was partly due to Theo’s revelations and partly because Madam Pomfrey had to wake her up every few hours to assess her concussion. The lack of sleep gave her plenty of time to think. Unfairness of any kind always bothered her. The plight of house elves, discrimination against werewolves, prejudice against muggleborns all had warranted prominent places on her “To Be Corrected” list. Hermione hadn’t told anyone yet, but she was planning on applying to work for the Ministry after graduation. She wanted to change things, make a difference. The fact that something this discriminatory had been happening under her nose upset her. 

“I’m supposed to be the observant one.” She said aloud around one in the morning, “I’m the one who is supposed to notice these things. How can I help people if I am just as blinded by my own prejudice?” 

Against Madam Pomfrey’s express orders, Hermione fetched parchment, ink, and a quill from her school bag. Theo was right about her, once she knew something, she had to do something. It was against her nature to let this kind of unfairness stand. Merlin help her, she was going to change, and she was going to change them. Hermione Granger was going crusading. Around two, Hermione put all her supplies on her nightstand. As she put down the ink pot, her eye landed on the handkerchief. Picking it up, she traced the embroidered edges and the monogrammed initials: DLM. 

Thinking back, she couldn’t say who had pulled her back from the explosion. Had it been Theo? Or had it been Malfoy? Clearly it had been Draco who had wiped the soot from her eyes so that she could see. Using his own handkerchief, no less. If Lucius ever found out, he’d probably go spare. That thought made her smile. 

_What the devil Draco?! How could you sully this handkerchief, a Malfoy heirloom, by using it on a muggleborn?!_

Imagining Lucius waving his arms and raving made her giggle. She must have smacked her head harder than she’d thought if this was making her laugh. But, as she drifted off to sleep, she felt she was making the right choice. And when she woke up the in the morning, she was still clutching the handkerchief. 

*** 

Hermione was discharged from the hospital wing that morning with some potions that would help with pain and swelling. She made it to Ancient Runes right on time. Time to test out phase one of her plan. Theo had already promised that he’d partner with her so that gave her an excuse. Besides potions, ancient runes was the class that she had with the most Slytherins in it. Taking a deep breath, Hermione entered the classroom. Just as she had predicted, all students were sitting in groups based on the house they were in. Theo, Draco, Tracey, and Pansy were all there sitting together. But the seat next to Theo was vacant. He’d saved the seat for her. This had to be a test. Well, Hermione had never failed a test in her life and she wasn’t starting now. 

Hermione lifted her chin, forced her shoulders back, and walked into the huddle of Slytherin students. She slid into the seat next to Theo and began unpacking her things. The air was charged. 

“Granger.” 

“Theo. Back to surnames, are we? And here I’d thought we were becoming friends.” 

This made Theo look up from his notes and shoot her Cheshire Cat smile. 

“Oh, friends, now are we?” 

“Of course. And since we’re friends, I’ll need someone to help me carry my things to my next class. I’ve sprained my wrist you see.” 

Hermione kept her tone light, teasing. Theo let out what sounded like a long-suffering sigh, 

“Oh well, I suppose I could oblige you. But only if you’ll agree to work on today’s translation with me.” 

“Gladly.” 

“Then consider it done.” 

Tracey snorted, “Get a room.” 

Theo coughed and covered his mouth to hide a smile. Pansy looked furious and Draco hadn’t even acknowledged her presence. But before anything else could be said, Professor Babbling entered the room and began her lecture. Hermione dutifully began taking her notes and ignoring any comments from other students in the class. 

*** 

The next morning was Saturday and Hermione woke up early. Putting on a thick sweater, muggle jeans, and trainers, Hermione made her way towards the Ravenclaw tower. Hermione really needed someone to talk to concerning the Slytherin Unity, Friendship, and Forgiveness Resolution (S.U.F.F.R for short). Luna tended to be a very early riser and was probably the least judgmental person Hermione had ever met. So, Hermione was really hoping for some feedback and maybe some support. She had intended to wait outside of the Ravenclaw dormitory until she could find someone to get Luna for her. But to her surprise, the eagle doorknocker both acknowledged and spoke to her. 

“And just who are you?” 

“Hermione Granger. I’m waiting for Luna Lovegood.” 

The eagle studied her intently before it intoned, 

“What is broken when it is never held?” 

“A promise?” 

“Are you asking me or telling me?” 

Hermione narrowed her eyes. What an arrogant bird! She repeated herself firmly, 

“A promise.” 

The eagle bowed its head and the door opened. Hermione peered in, uncertain as to whether she should actually enter. She had never been inside Ravenclaw Tower before. It was very airy with high ceilings reminding her a bit of her new eighth-year common room. 

“Um, hello?” 

“Hermione? Is that you?” 

Hermione sighed in relief, “Luna! Yes, it’s me.” 

Luna hurried to the common room door and gave Hermione a quick hug. 

“My you’re up very early but you answered the riddle correctly! Good for you!” 

Pausing Luna stared intently at a spot over Hermione’s right shoulder before announcing, 

“The wrackspurts certainly are flocking to you this morning! But don’t worry, I have just the thing for them!” 

Bemused Hermione entered the common room and sat down on a nearby chair. Luna was only gone for a few moments before she was back and pressing two stones into Hermione’s hands. 

“Here! Hold these on your shoulders and they should repel the worst of the wrackspurts.” 

Smiling faintly, Hermione followed Luna’s directions. No one else was up and about yet to see her so she didn’t feel as ridiculous as she normally would. Belatedly Hermione realized that Luna was bundled up and wearing rubber boots with her school bag over her shoulder. 

“Are you... going somewhere?” 

“Yes, I’m going to see if I can collect some samples for Ro- Mr. Scamander in the Forbidden Forest. I’m not going in too deep, but I’ve volunteered to help him with his research for extra credit.” 

“What’s he working on exactly?” 

Luna gestured for Hermione to follow her. Hermione cast about looking for something she could transfigure into a jacket. Just as she was about to give up, Hermione pulled Draco Malfoy’s handkerchief from her pocket. Quickly, Hermione waved her wand and the piece of cloth became a dark green coat. Not ideal for tramping through the forest but better than nothing. 

Luna was studying her thoughtfully as Hermione pulled on the coat. But if Luna had noticed the initials on the handkerchief, she didn’t comment on them. 

“He’s doing a study of the wolves in the forest. There were always rumors of werewolves in the forest. But Ro- Mr. Scamander thinks they might be something much rarer and more interesting.” 

“What?” 

“Well, if two werewolves meet and mate while transformed, they can produce viable lupine offspring.” 

“Is that even possible?” 

“Possible but not very likely. If he’s right though it would be a very important discovery! I’m looking for tracks or any evidence that could be significant.” 

“That’s... well that’s really interesting Luna!” 

“Oh yes, he’s a very interesting person. But what did you need to talk to me about Hermione? You’ve never come to Ravenclaw Tower before.” 

As they exited the school and walked towards the forest edge, Hermione explained everything to Luna. She began with reading the old issues of the Daily Prophet, told her about the firework explosion, Theo and Draco taking her to the hospital wing, and her plans for S.U.F.F.R. 

“That’s really great Hermione!” 

“It is?” 

“Oh, I think so. Perhaps more Slytherins should have joined the DA rather than trying to shut it down. Then they’d have a better shot at defending themselves. But I suppose none of us asked them, did we?” 

“No, we didn’t. But Luna, do you really think this is a good idea? I mean, Theo’s father is a Death Eater! And you were locked in the Malfoy dungeons during the war.” 

Luna paused in her inspection of the forest floor before turning her attention back to Hermione. 

“Yes but... well they aren’t their parents, are they? None of us are.” 

Hermione didn’t say anything so Luna continued. “Theodore Nott has never done anything, well, evil has he? And Pansy was always so prickly but _she_ never hurt me. Even Draco... well when I was in their dungeons, he never hurt us. Mostly he just looked... scared. Terrified like the rest of us.” 

“Without any sunlight or good food, Mr. Ollivander and I almost got very sick. Scurvy I think the muggles call it? But then one day, someone started leaving us oranges. Very small ones, always hidden among other things. And after Harry said that Mrs. Malfoy lied for him, I wondered whether she left them. But at the time I thought it might have been Draco.” 

“But he didn’t try to help you escape!” 

“But he didn’t hurt us either. When someone you love is in danger, you might do things you’d never want to do. That’s why they kidnapped me in the first place. To keep Daddy from writing his articles you know. And you had to oblivate your parents. Maybe it was the same for Draco. Maybe he just didn’t want You-Know-Who to hurt his parents.” 

Hermione’s eyes started to sting with tears at the mention of her parents. Luna hugged her tightly and then took her hand, leading her deeper into the woods. 

“The War was terrible Hermione. We all had to do things we never thought we could or would. But I always just think of my mother. She told me when I was little that life is difficult but the best thing to do is bloom anyway, no matter where you are planted. But people like you and me and Ginny, we had good gardeners. That is, our parents were very kind and nurturing people. But I wonder, Theo and Pansy and Draco, did they have good gardeners?” 

“Harry didn’t have nurturing parents and look at him!” 

“True, but he had you. And Ronald and The Order and the DA and Dumbledore.” 

Luna smiled in her vague way, “Sometimes problems require us to think outside of the box to solve them. And your S.U.F.F.R is definitely outside of the box. Oh, is that fur?” 

And it was. Luna had spotted a very dark tuft of hair attached to a bush. Hermione held a collection bag open for Luna. After carefully storing the sample, Luna hugged Hermione again. 

“I think you’re very kind Hermione. And that’s a good thing. But just try to remember, some people don’t know what to do with kindness when they aren’t used to it.” 

*** 

Two days later, Hermione was ready for phase two of her plan. She was prowling the library looking for Draco Malfoy. Finally, she found him sitting at a table in the section dedicated to Muggle history and invention. It was the last place she expected, which once she thought about it, was probably why he’d chosen the spot. Hermione approached his table feeling her nerves starting to get the better of her. 

_Don’t think, don’t think, don’t think._

Dropping her bag on an empty chair, she sat down at his table and began pulling out her books. She heard the twitters and gasps of her constant and unwanted audience. Opening her potions textbook to the proper page, Hermione risked a glance at Draco. He was staring back at her but this close to him, something was off. Something was missing. Disdain and hostility. In the eight years Hermione had known Draco Malfoy, she had never seen him look at her without some kind of negative emotion. But now, sitting next to him, the only thing she could detect in his expression was surprise. Hermione tried to give him a small smile and held out his handkerchief. 

“I think this is yours?” 

Nodding, he took the handkerchief and put it into his pocket. His hands were shaking again. He seemed as nervous as she was. So, Hermione smiled at him and turned to her essay. Working in silence helped Hermione feel back on solid ground again. The two of them worked long enough that the library cleared out and lamps were lit. Finally, Hermione shut her book with a flourish and a sigh of satisfaction. Raising her arms, Hermione leaned back for a deep stretch. When she opened her eyes, Draco was staring at her. His face was blank and unreadable making Hermione feel a bit nervous again. But she finally said what she’d come to say, 

“Thank you. For helping me the other day.” 

He cleared his throat and his cheeks went slightly pink, 

“You’re welcome.” 

“So why did you do it?” 


	4. Arresto Momentum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> As always, a special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.

The pause between Hermione’s question and Draco’s answer was charged. Hermione was able to track the changes in his body as they happened. At first, his pupils dilated, and his mouth dropped open slightly. He looked like he was seeing or hearing something very far away. But then his eyes refocused and he was looking at her again. His eyes narrowed into a glare and his voice was soft and dangerous when he answered.

“What do you mean? ‘Why did I do it?’”

Hermione suddenly felt a bit afraid of him,

“J-just what I said. Why did you help me?”

“There was an explosion and you were trapped in the middle of it. So, I helped you.”

He spoke slowly like he was talking to a toddler or buffoon. 

“Well if you had ever been nice or helpful to me before, maybe I wouldn’t be so confused!”

Malfoy opened his mouth like he was going to yell back at her. But then he shut his mouth with a snap and his eyes changed. It was as though she were watching someone put on a mask or pull the shades on a brightly lit house. His eyes went blank and it was like he was looking through her. Draco stood up and without a word, left. He didn’t put back any of his books, he didn’t take any of his things. He just walked away.

Hermione stared after him dumbstruck. Draco Malfoy  _ never  _ ignored her when she snapped at him. He was as quick with a comeback as she was, and, she had to admit, nearly as clever. If Ron or Harry had walked out on her that way, she would have been enraged. But before he’d walked away it was like a  dementor had come in and sucked all emotion from him. Draco’s body was there, but his spirit or soul or personality just… weren’t. Hermione was disturbed.

Checking her watch, Hermione realized it was near curfew, so she began to pack her things. When she returned from her third trip shel v ing her books he still hadn’t returned. Hermione worried her bottom lip. What to do? If she left his things out something could get lost or taken. But if she packed his possessions for him and he returned while she was packing, he might think  _ she  _ was taking his things. But then she remembered what Luna said,  _ I think you’re very kind Hermione _ . With a sigh Hermione decided, she’d do the kind thing.

Carefully she capped his ink jar and rolled up his scrolls. She arranged his notes alphabetically by class and tucked them carefully into his leather satchel. She put back all the books he had pulled that she knew the library had multiple copies of. Once she was down to four books that she knew contained specialized information, Hermione stacked them on top of each other by size, smallest at the top. Then, charming her own bag to be weightless, she shouldered both her canvas bag and Draco’s much larger leather  schoolbag. Carefully she carried his books to the front desk and signed them out. Madam  Pince had allowed her this special privilege this year and wouldn’t suspect Hermione would ever check books out for someone else.

Hermione made her way up to the third floor and mumbled the password to  Angharad . Once the portrait swung open, Hermione quickly put her things away in her room. Then she wrote a quick note to Draco and slipped it into the top book. Looking around to make sure she wasn’t being watched, Hermione crept into the boys’ side of the dormitory. She quickly found Draco’s room (next to Theo’s at the very end of the hallway) and left his things in a tidy pile at his door. His light was on, but Hermione wasn’t brave enough to knock. So, she just hurried  away before anyone saw her. When she returned to her room after a long bath,  an origami crane was hovering outside her door. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t grab it out of the air. With an annoyed huff, Hermione pushed her door open to get her wand. But the crane flew into the room and landed on her desk. With a flash of light, the bird became a carefully folded rose. Wand out and pointed at it, Hermione picked up the flower. It bloomed at her touch and in the center were two words.

_ I’m sorry. - DM _

The next few days went according to her plans. Hermione sat with Theo and Tracey when possible. She partnered with Theo in Ancient Ruins and Tracey in  Herbology despite desperately wanting to partner with Neville in the latter. Hermione continued to seek out Draco in the library after hours each night and sit across from him at his table to work. But Draco continued to largely ignore her. In class Pansy shot her so many death glares, Hermione was shocked she wasn’t dead already. But then, Draco did something unexpected. 

Draco nearly arrived late to Potions. Hermione found herself becoming anxious the closer it came to for class to start. She kept darting glances at the dungeon doors to the point that Neville asked her if she was having some kind of episode. Finally, just as Professor  Slughorn was about to begin, Draco arrived. But rather than take the empty seat next to Pansy, Draco looked around the classroom until he made eye contact with Hermione. Then, squaring his shoulders, he strode over and sat down right next to her. This made Ginny’s eyebrows shoot up into her bangs. But neither Ginny or Hermione commented on his seating choice. 

That night Hermione sought Draco out in the library again and opted to not only sit next to him, but to ask his opinion on something from their potions lesson. Everything was going so well Hermione should have suspected something would go wrong. When the other shoe finally dropped, it was like a bomb going off.

***

**_ Chaos in Azkaban!  _ ** **_ Narcissa _ ** **_ Malfoy in Critical Condition! _ **

_ Around one o’clock this morning, several high security prisoners were moved from their cells to the courtyard for their mandated recreation periods. During the routine exchange of prisoners between max security guards and recreation officers, several known Death Eaters attempted a coup. During the skirmish, Azkaban guards were wounded when two unnamed Death Eaters used homemade weapons in an attempt to take hostages. In the chaos, Narcissa Malfoy (nee Black), allegedly pushed a younger guard out of harm's way and was injured in the process. She has been transferred to St. Mungo’s Hospital and remains in critical condition. For further details on this attempted escape, see page four. _

Hermione snatched the Daily Prophet from the unsuspecting student next to her. 

“Hey!”

“Sorry! I need to borrower this!”

Hermione didn’t even look up when she delivered her half-hearted apology. Page four of The Prophet didn’t provide any further details. Names of the attackers were being withheld on the orders of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. There was a statement from  auror trainee Harry J. Potter who had been asked to be assigned to the case. But the statement revealed nothing and clearly had been pre-written for him. 

Hermione tossed the paper back to her disgruntled tablemate and quickly ran towards the  Owlery . Once there, she dashed off a letter to Harry and loudly requested the fastest owl available. She received three volunteers and chose the large horned owl who made it down to her first. The other two owls were extremely offended at her choice, but she offered them some scraps of bacon mollifying them. Hermione then dashed back to the common room but Draco wasn’t there. And he wasn’t in any of his classes either. By lunch Hermione was snapping at the smallest of provocations and terrified a group of third years on their way to the Great Hall. It was at that point that Ginny suggested they go for a walk.

The fresh air was bracing but it didn’t take the edge off of Hermione’s anxiety. But as she and Ginny were walking the grounds, she saw three people pop into existence at the gates of Hogwarts. One of them was wearing red  auror trainee  robes and a distinctive pair of glasses.

“Harry!” she shrieked before running down towards him.

Hermione intended to throw her arms around him in a hug, but seeing that he was accompanied by two very stern looking  aurors , she stopped herself. The result was that she did an extremely awkward hop-skip in front of him while quickly raising and then dropping her arms.

“Hello Hermione.” Harry's voice was warm but his expression was worried.

The  aurors nodded to her and to Ginny before starting up towards the castle. Hermione and Ginny fell into step alongside Harry. Hermione whispered,

“Did you get my letter?”

“Yeah. But I haven’t had a moment to respond. We don’t know anything. The two who attacked were low level guys. Not enough brain power between them to power a light bulb. So, I reckon there has to be someone else behind the plan.”

“Potter.” One of the  aurors said in a warning tone.

But Harry rolled his eyes before loudly continuing,

“Hermione, Ginny says you’ve been hanging out with the  Slytherins lately. Can I come ask you some questions later? Maybe you’ve noticed something that can help the investigation.”

"Good idea Potter.” The lead  auror said, “Are you in classes all afternoon Miss Granger?”

“I’ve got a free period around two thirty.”

“Right.” Harry nodded, “I’ll come find you and we can talk then. For now,” here Harry frowned, “I have to get Draco Malfoy to the hospital. He needs to be supervised there for his protection.”

“He should be in  Arithmancy this afternoon, but he hasn’t been in his classes all day.”

This made Harry, Ginny, and all the  aurors stare at her. Blushing Hermione stuttered,

“Well I, I read the paper this morning like everyone else. I wondered whether he was, he was alright...”

Harry gave her a one-armed hug, “Don’t worry Hermione. I’ll find him.”

Nearly three hours later, Harry found Hermione and they walked to the astronomy tower to talk. Once at the top, Harry cast  muffliato and turned to Hermione with a s mall smile .

“Okay, tell me  what’s going on .”

Hermione told him everything about her trip to the hospital wing with Theo and Draco, Pansy defending her during the explosion, her conversations with Luna, and about S . U . F . F . R. Here Harry guffawed,

“Really Hermione?! SUFFER?! This is like SPEW all over again!”

“It was S.P.E.W. Harry Potter as you well know!”

They smiled at each other and then Harry pulled Hermione into a real hug.

“Okay so you almost got blown up, you and Luna have been searching for super intelligent mutant wolves, and you’re trying to  help  the Slytherins. I thought you told me that you wanted a ‘normal’ year?”

Hermione sighed. “I did too. But... well like I said, now I know. And now that I know-”

“You have to help. I know.”

“You’re not angry at me?”

“I won’t lie, I  meant  to find you and give you a talking to about this whole, ‘let’s befriend the kids of Death Eaters’ thing. But... well after seeing Malfoy at the hospital today...” Harry looked out over the grounds, “He’s not the same person. None of us are, I guess. And Luna’s right, we  _ aren’t  _ our parents. Why should we treat them like they are  guilty of crimes they didn’t commit ?”

“That’s surprisingly insightful Harry Potter!”

Harry ran his hand through his hair, “Well, hunting down the renegade Death Eaters, defeating a Dark Lord,  _ dying _ , it really... changes how you look at things. And after seeing Malfoy break down at the hospital today...”

“Was it that bad? Is she going to be alright?”

“I don’t know... She wasn’t poisoned, it was a stab with a homemade shiv. But... she’s lost a lot of weight and she’s not well. Damn it! If they had just moved her! If they had just listened to me this wouldn’t have happened!”

“Did she really save that guard?”

“Who,  Smythe ? Yeah... he’s new to max security apparently. Not much older than us. They said she’s made friends with him. She saved his life. With the way  Smythe was acting, you’d have thought she was  _ his  _ mother.”

“Do you think... that is... could it have been...?”

“Who?”

“Lucius Malfoy.” Hermione said his name in a rush.

“Lucius Malfoy trying to kill his own wife?”

“Well clearly he didn’t  _ try  _ to kill her. She was... collateral damage. But could he have been trying to escape?”

“I checked Hermione . H e wasn’t even scheduled to be moved that night. They haven’t been letting the Malfoys see each other at all .”

Hermione bit her lip, “But maybe he was trying for a distraction? Like how he slipped Ginny the diary second year?”

“You haven’t said that to Ginny, have you?”

Hermione blinked at his tone. Harry looked quite fierce in that moment, “No of course not!”

“Well do me a favor and _don’t_. Not unless we have really solid proof. She’s barely holding it together as it is...” 

Harry let out a deep sigh. “Anyway Hermione, just be careful alright? I’m not going to tell you that you can’t  be  friends with whoever you like. But their parents  _ are  _ Death Eaters. And we are still trying to catch too many  fugitives  for me to feel comfortable with you and Luna going into the Forbidden Forest alone.”

“Noted.”

“Also let’s not tell Ron about SUFFER yet, yeah? He’d definitely lose it.”

“S.U.F.F.R. And yes, I agree.”

“Okay, I’ll keep you posted as best I can. And,” Harry studied her for a moment, “if you want to send  Narcissa anything, let me know. If you send it to me first, I can take it to her for you.”

“That... I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Okay. Good luck Hermione. You’re going to need it.”

“You too Harry. You too.”

That night, Draco wasn’t in the library. On her way back to the common room, Hermione tried to tell herself that she didn’t care. That she wasn’t worried. But of course, she was. She even peeked into the boy’s hall to see if he was in his room. But the light wasn’t on. Theo and Tracey weren’t in either. Hermione decided she’d wait in the common room for someone to come back. She set herself up with a mug of hot chocolate and a book to wait. Around eleven-thirty, Draco Malfoy came through the portrait hole.

“ Dra \- Malfoy! Are you alright?”

Draco twitched at the sound of her voice and didn’t make eye contact with her. 

“I’m fine.”

Hermione hurried over to him, “Are you sure?”

He snapped, “Peachy Granger! My mother is in the hospital and my father is under  suspicion  for her attempted murder! I’m doing swell!”

Hermione reached out to touch his hand, just as she had done to Theo. But rather than deescalate the situation, the gesture seemed to infuriate him further. Draco flinched away from her and two red spots appeared on his cheeks.

“Don’t. You. Touch. Me.” He growled.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” Hermione  hissed, “ I forgot! I can’t touch you. Wouldn’t want to be contaminated by the  _ mudblood _ .” 

Draco flinched again and then he grabbed her wrist. 

“Don’t say that word.” He snarled.

Hermione tried to pull away from him, but he held tight. 

“Why not?! It’s what you think I am isn’t it? You and your damn family!”

“Don’t talk about my family!”

“I’ll say what I want! You don’t get to tell me what to do or how to feel about them! You let me be cut open on their parlor floor!”

This made Draco turn deathly pale, but he still didn’t drop her wrist. He took a ragged  breath and pulled her arm sharply towards him. This pulled her sleeve up, revealing her scars. The word his aunt had branded on her skin.  _ Mudblood _ . Hermione was shaking in her fury and with irrational fear.

When Draco started to touch the scars, Hermione shoved him away violently and she ran out the portrait door . Just as she had done on her first day in the castle after the battle, Hermione ran. The walls were closing in and she ran until she couldn’t breathe. She didn’t know where she was going, her mind just kept screaming,  _ away!  _ Hermione tripped and fell. A cord had been strung up in the hallway. But she was too far gone to register this. Blinded by tears, she didn’t see that the hallway she was running down ended abruptly. One second she was on firm ground and the next she was falling forward into dead air. Her scream caught in her throat and she saw the grass rushing up to meet her.  _ This is it. This is how I die.  _

“ _ Arresto _ _ momentum! _ ” 

And with a jerk, she froze in midair. Opening her eyes, she saw that she was floating on a silver mist. Slowly she was maneuvered through the air until she was hovering above the stone of the ruined hallway. It was Draco Malfoy. Draco bloody Malfoy had saved her life. She let out a sob of hysterical laughter. The irony! He was panting and even more pale than usual. He guided her body to the floor and then dropped to his knees at her side.

“Damn  it , Granger!”

And then he grabbed her arms and gave her a firm shake. They were both trembling, and Draco Malfoy was clutching her like he was drowning, and she was his lifeline. Hermione pushed at his chest, but he only tightened his grasp. The stone hurt her knees, the night air bit at her exposed cheeks and hands, and Draco’s hold was bruising her arms. Sobbing Hermione pushed away from him and hit him in the chest, once, twice, three times. And she was yelling,

“You let them! You let  _ her _ ! Why didn’t you stop her?!”

Then his arms were around her. He was warm and he smelled like parchment and grass fresh from the  quidditch pitch. He was rocking her back and forth while she sobbed into his robes.

“Safe. Safe. Safe. We’re safe. It’s over.”

And Hermione didn’t know whether he was telling himself or telling her. He let her go and pushed his handkerchief into her hands. Hermione wiped her cheeks and sniffled wetly. Once her sobs slowed and she could breathe again Hermione shivered. Draco was leaning against the wall, covering his face with a shaking hand. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flask. He unscrewed the top and took a practiced gulp. Wiping his mouth, he noticed her watching him. He clenched his teeth and then offered her the flask. Without thinking, Hermione accepted it and quickly took a drink. The whiskey burned her throat and made her eyes water again. But the numbing warmth was wonderful, and she took a second sip before returning the flask.

Draco screwed the cap back on and put it back into his robes. His hands weren’t shaking anymore. In a voice that was much steadier than she felt she asked,

“How long have you... been drinking?”

His laugh was humorless and cold, “Since the night you were cut open on my parlor floor.”

She pulled his handkerchief through her fingers anxiously. He continued like he couldn’t stop once he started.

“I didn’t want it to be you. That’s why I lied. I didn’t want you all there. Potter made it sound like nobility but I just didn’t want to see what they’d do to you. What they’d make  _ me  _ do to you. Your screams… they…”

He trailed off and then brought the flask out again. After a drink to fortify himself he continued.

“I kept thinking about how I’d said horrible things to you. All those years I said awful things about Potter,  Weasley , you. But then you were screaming on the floor where I’d played with my trains as a kid. When you escaped and  _ he _ came, she turned on me.”

Draco drew a hand down his face and bit his lip. “That crazy... she  crucio’ed me within an inch of my life while the Death Eaters laughed! And my mother… my mother screamed.”

He leaned his head back against the stone and closed his eyes.

“It’s killing her.” He laughed that hollowly again, “It’s killing  _ me _ . The nightmares, they don’t stop. I drink and drink. But it doesn’t go away. Your screams, my mother’s sobs, that fucking snake. It ATE Professor Burbage in our dining room. Azkaban was better than being home.”

While he spoke, Hermione had unconsciously edged closer to him until she was leaning against the wall with him. When he started crying, Hermione put her back to the wall and looked straight ahead to give him privacy. But she covered his hand with her own when he put it on the ground between them. Draco flinched but clutched at her hand, lacing their fingers together. He covered his eyes with his other arm and grit his teeth as he cried as though it caused him great pain. When Draco stopped crying, Hermione offered him his handkerchief back. But he closed her hand around it and gave her a brittle smile. 

“Keep it, Granger.”

Hermione nodded, “Okay.”

And they stared at the grounds together through the holes in the ruined hallway until it felt safe enough to move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to take the time to thank everyone who has read this so far. It has been lovely to watch the hits count go up. Also special thank you to everyone who has left kudos or commented. It is both a very exciting and humbling feeling.
> 
> I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this difficult time! Thanks for sticking with me!


	5. Defensive Action

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> Yesterday was my birthday! Even with us being at home in isolation, my fiance managed to plan a lovely birthday full of surprises. So when all was said and done, I fell asleep happy as a clam. So new chapter today instead of my normal Monday. Thanks for your patience!
> 
> As always, a special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.

The next morning , Hermione woke up with a pounding headache. All the crying had made her face puffy and her charms could only do so much. Her hair was a rat’s nest and the last thing she wanted to do was leave her bed. She finally made it to the Great Hall thirty minutes before breakfast ended. She had grown so used to the whispering and pointing that she didn’t even register something was different about it until she started to tuck into her oatmeal. 

“What in the hell?” hissed Ginny dropping a newspaper onto the table and sitting next to her. 

Hermione blinked at her blearily, “ Please b e more specific Ginny. I’m exhausted.” 

Ginny just tapped the copy of the Prophet she’d dropped onto the table. Hermione looked down and saw a blurry photo of herself. She snatched the paper up and read the headline:  _ Golden Girl Granger Threatened by Death Eater Draco Malfoy? _ Someone had somehow taken a photo of her running from the common room. As she watched, the photo version of herself ran clearly in tears. Then seconds later Draco appeared and pulling his wand out, hurried after her. 

“Who took this?! How did they-?” 

“Forget that! Was Malfoy threatening you?” 

“No! Of course not!” 

“Of course not!” Ginny repeated, “What do you mean ‘of course not’? It’s Malfoy! He’s always bothering you!” 

Hermione shook her head, “Not this year. He’s completely ignored me. Except...” 

“Except?” 

“Except when he helped her last week.” Luna sat with them, across from Ginny. 

“He what?!” 

“ It was when the firework was set off outside of our common room . He and Theo took to me to the hospital wing.” 

“Well then why is he pulling his wand on you here?” 

“He isn’t pulling it on me! He is taking it out. And a good thing too since he stopped me from falling out of a hole in the wall of the castle!” 

Hermione quickly scanned the Great Hall looking for Draco’s head of platinum hair. But he wasn’t there. Then Hermione remembered what Pansy had hissed the week before ,  _ just what we need _ . This was only going to make the situation for Slytherin, and Draco, worse. Hermione let her head fall to the table with a  thunk . Then after a deep breath, she said, 

“I need to talk to Professor McGonagall about this. This is all a big misunderstanding.” 

“McGonagall? You need to talk to me, Hermione.” Ginny put her hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “What’s going on?” 

Standing Hermione slung her bag over her shoulder, “I promise I’ll explain everything, Ginny. But I need to find Professor McGonagall now! Before the  aurors get here. They’ll want to question me for sure.” 

Hermione hurried from the Great Hall and made her way towards the Headmistress’s office. Only when she arrived at the griffon statue did she realize that she had no clue what the password was. Cursing under her breath Hermione paced for a moment before a solution hit her.

“Gordie?”

With a pop the little elf appeared. 

“Miss Granger! How can I be helping you?”

Even in her distress, Hermione found herself able to give the elf a small smile.

“Please call me Hermione,  Gordie . I was wondering if you could help me. I need to get in to see the Headmistress. Only, I don’t know her password.”

Gordie shuffled his feet and looked down at the stone floor.

“I am sorry Miss! Gordie isn’t allowed to bring students into the Headmistress’s office.”

“Well, could you pop in and tell her I am here? And that it is very important? Please?”

Gordie seemed uncertain and Hermione felt a rush of guilt. She proceeded gently,

“This isn’t an order  Gordie . I don’t want you to do anything that would get you into trouble or make you punish yourself. I just really need to speak to Professor McGonagall. I wouldn’t ask you normally, but I’m in a hurry.”

This made  Gordie smile. “ Gordie can go in and ask! That isn’t breaking rules!  Gordie will be right back!”

And with a pop, he  disappeared . He reappeared a few moments later looking quite surprised.

“Headmistress said she was just about to send for you.  Gordie can bring you up even without the password! Please take my hand Miss!”

Hermione took the elf’s hand and was immediately reminded of poor Dobby. But before she could think, she was inside McGonagall’s office. Blinking back tears, Hermione thanked  Gordie profusely and he left with a bow. Turning towards the Headmaster’s desk, Hermione saw that McGonagall was flanked by the two  aurors that had been with Harry the day before. They looked quite stern and very displeased to see her.

“Ah Miss Granger, excellent timing. These two gentlemen were just about to go in search of you. Please come and sit down.”

Professor McGonagall sounded put out and Hermione sat down quickly.

“Please Professor, about the Daily Prophet-”

“Yes, that is what we are here about.” the elder of the  aurors interrupted, “Y ou remember us from yesterday Miss Granger?  Senior  Auror Dobbs and  Auror Acton. First, an attempted riot in Azkaban and now Draco Malfoy has been caught red-handed threatening students!”

“He hasn’t been threatening anyone!”

The three adults across the table looked very surprised at her statement. Hermione took a deep breath and said more quietly.

“Draco Malfoy hasn’t threatened anyone, least of all me.”

The younger  auror , Acton, smiled at her in a way that set her teeth on edge before saying in a patronizing tone,

“You don’t need to be afraid Miss Granger. We are here to help! And we have corroborating statements from several students that they were threatened by Mr. Malfoy and Miss Parkinson.”

“Who said that? They are complete and utter lies!”

“Please calm down Miss Granger.” Professor McGonagall turned to the  aurors angrily, “Are you suggesting that you have taken sworn statements from minors without notifying the school and without parental consent?”

Acton had the sense to look slightly embarrassed but Dobbs just waved his hand at McGonagall dismissively.

“Their parents were informed after the fact and they did not take issue with our discussions. Miss Granger is it or is it not true that a  Messers Goyle ,  Humbolt , and Eaton were, in your presence, threatened by Miss Parkinson? Did she not tell them that she would hex the three of them?”

“Well yes but-”

Dobbs turned to Acton, “Even disregarding the statement from  Goyle , rotten to the core that family, we have the word of two students who are willing to testify. That’s more than enough to revoke Malfoy’s parole and-”

“You will do  no such thing!”

Hermione’s voice had risen to a shriek and she stood so forcefully her chair clattered to the floor.

“Did those students tell you that Pansy only said that because they had set off a highly dangerous explosive in the hallway? Did they tell you that they nearly killed me with it?!”

Their pause told Hermione that fact had been conveniently left out. 

“Eaton,  Humbolt , and  Goyle set off a firework that sent me to the Hospital Wing with a concussion and several other injuries! Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, and Theodore Nott came to my assistance! They were not menacing or threatening anyone! Furthermore, I don’t know how that picture got into the Daily Prophet, but Malfoy did  _ not  _ threaten me!”

“But you were crying and running from him in the photo!”

Hermione hissed, “I was in tears over a completely unrelated issue! Malfoy was running after me to make sure that I was alright. And it is a good thing he did since he saved my life! I nearly fell from the third floor after accidentally entering an area under construction! Not to mention, I am Hermione Granger! If Draco Malfoy tried to go toe to toe with me in a duel, I would demolish him! Now, perhaps you should stop harassing students and set about finding out who was behind that attempted riot! Maybe you should consider actually doing your jobs!”

A slow clap perforated the silence coming from behind her. Hermione whipped around to see that Draco had entered the Headmistress’s office while she’d been mid tirade. Hermione was startled to see that Draco was acting very much like his pre-war self. As he walked towards McGonagall’s desk Draco continued in his slow clap and sneered at the two aurors.

“Very nice Granger! Well, except for the part about demolishing me in a duel. But luckily for us both, we don’t have to put that theory to the test. I had hoped you two were here to give me news about my mother’s condition. But I see I expected too much by hoping for competence in the auror’s office.”

“Shut it Malfoy!” Acton snarled, startling Hermione with the venom in his voice. 

“You will  _ all  _ be silent and take a seat!” Professor McGonagall was practically shaking with anger.

Draco righted Hermione’s chair and gestured for her to sit before taking a seat himself.

“Now, Mr. Malfoy that is hardly helpful.” Professor McGonagall began. “As for you two,” here she pinned Dobbs and Acton with a glare that had them both recoiling. “Hogwarts may have a new headmistress, but that does not change the fact that this school is not under ministry control! You have no right to question minors without an adult present! And I will not have you threatening my students without justification! I believe there is a trace on Mr. Malfoy’s wand correct? Therefore, it would be very easy to determine whether he has cast any curses or illegal spells on anyone. Mr. Malfoy, what was the last spell you cast?”

Draco leaned back in his chair and folded his arms.

“ _Arresto momentum_.”

“That’s true.” Hermione piped up, “He cast it on me to stop me from falling.”

Acton  sputtered, “You can’t just expect us to take his word for it!”

Professor McGonagall held her hand out for Draco’s wand, “Well if you won’t take his word or the word of a  _ decorated  _ _ war heroine _ with an Order of Merlin First Class, perhaps you’ll believe unbiased magic. Mr. Malfoy your wand if you please.”

Draco handed over his wand without a fuss. “ Larch  and unicorn hair made by  Ollivander himself.”

As Professor McGonagall studied the wand Hermione couldn’t help but whisper to Draco,

“I thought your wand was  made of  hawthorn.”

He looked surprised that she knew but he whispered back, “It was.” Then more loudly he said, “After the war, my old one wouldn’t work for me anymore. I had to get a new one.”

Pointing her wand tip at Draco’s Professor McGonagall  cast , “ _Prior Incantato_ .”

Draco’s wand sputtered and then a ghostly image of Hermione appeared in miniature. Her tiny double appeared to be falling but then was halted midair by a mist.

“There you have it.” Professor McGonagall said handing Draco back his wand. 

“He could have tampered with his wand!”

Hermione snorted in disbelief . Professor McGonagall stood,

“If Mr. Malfoy had cast any illegal or offensive magics the Ministry would have been notified and you would have come in force with an arrest warrant. Both he and Miss Granger stated that the last spell he cast was  _arresto_ _momentum_ which _prior in_ _c_ _antato_ confirms. Now, that we have cleared this up, you may both leave. I trust you will not return without a warrant and I  _ will  _ be writing to your superiors about your disregard for the law when it comes to questioning minors. Good day.”

Professor McGonagall turned to Hermione and Draco, “I’ll inform your professors why you were tardy. To class with both of you.”

Neither Hermione or Draco needed to be dismissed twice. Draco actually held the door open for her and they descended the staircase in silence. Once they reached the bottom, Hermione didn’t know what to say. But Draco just said,

“See you around Granger.” And he sauntered off.

***

Hermione couldn’t concentrate for the rest of the day. She had decided to write to the  auror’s office about Dobbs and Acton but the interaction had still rattled her a it. They were really looking for any excuse to toss Malfoy back into Azkaban. After sending out her letters about Acton and Dobbs, Hermione decided to write to Harry. Maybe he had some more information on Draco’s trial and Narcissa’s charges. And she wanted to follow up on this investigation into the attempted prison riot. If there was a mastermind behind the attempt, she wanted to know who it was. Hermione was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice Pansy had been waiting for her.

“Hey, Granger!”

Hermione looked up, startled.

“Pansy?”

Pansy snorted and closed the book she’d been reading. “Took you long enough. Some ‘war hero.’ I could have hexed you three times over.”

_ Kind Hermione, be kind. _

Hermione forced a smile out but suspected she probably just looked pained.

“What can I do for you?”

Pansy pushed herself off of the wall she’d been leaning on and walked towards Hermione.

“I don’t know what you’re playing at, but stay away from Draco. He has enough problems without you swooping in and making things worse.”

Hermione sputtered, “I’m making things worse?!”

“Just look at the Daily Prophet Granger. You had the aurors in here ready to arrest him and take him back to Azkaban!”

“That wasn’t my fault!”

“It still happened didn’t it ? Draco isn’t one of your precious house-elves. We don’t need or want your ‘help!’”

Hermione took a deep breath, “Pansy I’m just trying to-”

“I don’t care what you are trying Granger! Just piss off!”

“If you’d just let me-”

“Don’t you get it!” Pansy’s voice rose to a shout, “Narcissa got stabbed because of you!”

Pansy was breathing heavily as she continued, “You think it’s a coincidence that you start sniffing around and suddenly Narcissa Malfoy gets nearly killed in Azkaban? Somehow someone just  _ happened  _ to get a photo of you running away from Draco Malfoy and it  _ somehow  _ made it to the Prophet in time for a morning press release? Wake up Granger aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?!”

When Hermione didn’t say anything Pansy’s voice dropped to a hiss, “Just because we aren’t fighting battles anymore doesn’t mean The War is over. We’re all being watched and if you keep coming around, you’re going to get someone killed. If you want to ‘help’ Draco Malfoy or Theodore Nott, just shut up and go away!”

With that Pansy turned on her heel and stalked off leaving Hermione stunned and frozen in the hallway. 


	6. Pride and Predjudice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.
> 
> Due to some things going on in my personal life, chapters are going to start coming more towards the two-week mark. Thank you for reading!

Hermione felt as though she’d been thrown into cold water. Pansy’s words seemed to echo in her mind. _Narcissa got stabbed because of you! You’re going to get somebody killed! We’re all being watched!_ Hermione began to walk in a daze. She ended up at the portrait of the Fat Lady at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. 

“Oh, Hermione!” The Fat Lady waved merrily, “I was wondering when I’d finally see you! I hope Angharad is treating you well. Did you need to get inside?” 

“Yes… Gillyweed.” 

“Right you are!” 

The Fat Lady swung open and Hermione climbed through the portrait hole. Looking around she spotted Ginny in deep conversation with three other Gryffindor students. As Hermione approached, she could tell they were talking about quidditch. 

“No, listen we have to make sure only the best show up for the tryouts and- Hermione!” 

Ginny smiled up at her and Hermione tried to smile back, but instead, she felt her lips tremble with emotion. 

“Oh bugger… Let’s finish talking about this another time.” Ginny dismissed the others and turned to Hermione, “What’s happened?” 

“Pansy.” 

Ginny frowned, “That hag! What did she say to you now?” 

Hermione sat heavily and told Ginny about their encounter. She also described her confrontation with Dobbs and Acton. Ginny’s mouth dropped open. 

“They were questioning minors without an adult? I don’t know how it is in the muggle world but that is a BIG deal. They could lose their jobs for that. The statements definitely wouldn’t hold up in court. But you’re saying Malfoy didn’t do it?” 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Ginny. And with the riot and the photo in The Prophet, I’m beginning to wonder whether Pansy might not have a point.” 

“Wow… we lived to see the day that Pansy Parkinson may have made a valid point.” 

That got a weak smile out of Hermione and Ginny let out a puff of air, blowing her bangs out of her eyes. 

“Merlin Hermione, I wish I could just tell you that your crush’s ex was just blowing hot air but…” 

“I don’t have a crush on Malfoy!” 

“Okay, okay. Yeah I wish we could say it’s all a coincidence but-“ 

“But when in the past eight years has anything _just_ been a coincidence?” 

“Exactly.” Frowning Ginny continued, “She made a good point though, who in the world would have taken that photo, let alone sent it to the paper? I’m sure you were too upset to see if there was a flash.” 

“I definitely didn’t see a flash.” 

“Well, it isn’t like there are school cameras. So, it couldn’t be just anyone. Everyone in the photography club has to bring their own from home.” 

“We have a photography club?” 

“Yeah, Collin started it before… well before.” 

They both paused, having an unspoken moment of silence for Collin Creevey. Then Ginny said, 

“We need to talk to Harry about this.” 

“I don’t know that he can tell us anything. You remember how Dobbs and Acton reacted when he even mentioned that he thought there was a mastermind.” 

“Well, Acton and Dobbs aren’t worth a flobberworm as far as I’m concerned. Also, come on Hermione, it’s Harry. Since when has Harry ever cared that much about regulations?” 

“True.” 

“Here, let’s write him right now.” 

Ginny hurried to her room to get parchment and quill and Hermione leaned back into the sofa she was sitting on. Being back in Gryffindor Tower felt _good_. Some of the best times of her life had been spent in this tower, in this room. Maybe she ought to try to come by more. 

“Um, hello Miss Hermione?” 

Hermione opened her eyes to see a little first year shuffling from foot to foot nervously. “Could I have your autograph?” 

Hermione sighed, maybe coming by more often wasn’t the best idea. But she smiled and signed the proffered scrap of parchment. Ginny returned just as the first year was returning to their friends. 

“Merlin, Tracey’s right. You have to stop doing that. Okay, here we go!” 

*** 

The next day went by without a response from Harry. But on Friday his letter arrived mixed among the fanmail Hermione was _still_ getting. It was only a few short sentences saying he’d look into it and see what he could find out. He also mentioned that Narcissa was on the mend but still in the hospital, too weak to go back to Azkaban. Privately Hermione thought that St. Mungo’s was probably the best place for Narcissa Malfoy for the time being. While she waited for Harry’s response, Hermione took to watching Pansy Parkinson. 

In previous years, Hermione had never paid too much attention to Pansy. The Slytherin girl had always struck Hermione as simply shallow and mean. Pansy had never seemed to give too much thought to her school work either, her grades had never been impressive. So, Hermione was astonished to discover over the next few days that Pansy was apparently a voracious reader. Between classes, at meals, Pansy Parkinson was always reading. In fact, according to Tracey, Pansy could get through a book a day given the chance. 

“What does she read?” 

“Fiction usually. Used to be only trashy romance novels. But then two years ago she started reading a lot of mysteries and period stuff. Last year I caught her actually reading nonfiction. Psychology books if you can believe it.” 

Tracey’s face turned very sad, “I think it was her way of trying to understand what was going on around here.” 

Hesitantly Hermione asked, “It was bad?” 

“Yeah. It was really bad. You never talked to Ginny about it?” 

Hermione shook her head. 

“Maybe you should.” 

But Hermione remembered what Harry said about Ginny “barely holding it together.” So instead she asked Luna. 

“Oh yes. It was awful.” Luna said matter of factly over her fur samples. “The Carrows were the worst. They’d use torture for punishment that made Umbridge look like a fairy godmother.” 

“They didn’t use Unforgivables did they?” 

“They did.” Luna nodded, pausing in her categorizing. “They nearly got me once. But Professor Snape came around the corner. He did _crucio_ me at first because they were watching, but he stopped after only five minutes and sent me away.” 

“Oh Luna...” 

“He went easy on me I think.” Luna said dropping her head, “But it still hurts like nothing else.” 

“Yes.” Hermione said remembering Bellatrix and Malfoy Manor, “It does.” 

Luna gave herself a shake, “Ginny and Neville got the worst of it. They were always sticking up for people. ‘Rabble rousing’ the Carrows called it.” 

“Luna... how do you...?” 

“Projects,” Luna replied. She actually smiled then, “I figured out what works for me after my mother died. I write, I draw, I make clothes, I do interesting things like this. It isn’t that it doesn’t hurt, it’s that I know how to work with the pain. Get it out.” 

Pausing, Luna cocked her head, “Hermione, do you think maybe this would help with S.U.F.F.R?” 

“Maybe.” Hermione agreed, “Muggles call it PTSD.” 

“PTSD?” 

“Yes, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have a book I could give you.” 

“That would be nice.” 

Hermione gave Luna a tight hug. “Thanks Luna.” 

“You’re welcome.” 

On Saturday Hermione got up early and headed into Hogsmeade. She posted a few letters and ran into Ernie near Honeydukes where he talked her ear off about the Student Events Committee. Hermione half-heartedly agreed to help out just so she could get away. Finally ducking into Tomes and Scrolls, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. After her talk with Luna, Hermione felt inspired to look into what wizards had written about trauma and the mind. There was only a small shelf dedicated to what she was looking for in the larger “Self-Improvement” section. Hermione picked out a few likely candidates and went deeper into the shop to read unobserved. Turning a corner, she ran into someone and her books went flying. 

“Damn it!” she cried as she felt herself falling backward. But a hand grabbed her wrist and steadied her on her feet. 

“You alright Granger?” 

“Malfoy!” 

Mumbling a thank you, Hermione covered her embarrassment by dropping to her knees to pick up her books. After a moment Malfoy joined her. 

“Oh! Thanks.” 

Draco didn’t say anything. Instead, he smiled at her. Hermione blinked once, twice. Draco Malfoy smiled at her. Not a smirk or a sneer, a real smile. It completely softened his face and his eyes almost sparkled with unspoken mischief. But before he could say anything else, Pansy’s voice cut through the air. 

“Draco!” 

Hermione stood and saw Pansy clutching several books to her chest and glaring. 

“Come on we’re supposed to meet Theo at the Three Broomsticks.” 

“Coming Pans.” Draco stood and paused. Then he said, “Hey Granger do you want to-” 

“I’m sure Granger has other things to do. _Right, Granger?!”_

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes making Draco’s smile grow larger. “Thanks for asking but, I really need to look through these. I’m working on a project with Luna.” 

“Oh, what a shame.” Pansy simpered, taking Draco’s arm and pulling him away, “Goodbye Granger!” 

As Pansy pulled Draco away, he and Hermione made eye contact and _he winked at her_ . Hermione felt her cheeks heat. Quickly she scampered deeper into the shelves and pressed her fingers to her cheeks. _What in the world?_ Giving herself a shake, Hermione firmly opened her first book and got to work. Reading about the wizarding version of psychology seemed much safer than analyzing whatever that had been. 

That evening Hermione was neck-deep in books. She’d purchased a couple from the bookshop and then retired to the library to take notes. She had a crick in her neck and her fingers were stained with ink, but she felt she was getting somewhere. She had discovered that not only did wizards understand the concept of PTSD, but that they had their own versions of therapy that were done with pensieves. This opened up a whole new interesting set of possibilities. Hermione was theorizing that perhaps pensieve therapy combined with magical spells could be used to reverse or alleviate physical trauma in the brain. If she was correct then she (theoretically) could help a whole lot of people. Her frenetic note-taking was interrupted by Ginny. 

“I’ve been looking all over for you! Harry’s sent us something.” 

Hermione practically threw her quill down in her excitement to see what he’d sent. But to her surprise, Harry hadn’t sent a letter. Instead, he’d sent them a large package wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. It must have taken a very large owl to carry it all. Together, she and Ginny bent over the parcel and opened it. There was an enclosed letter on top. 

_Dear Ginny and Hermione,_

_The case is going much better! Thanks for asking. It took some convincing but Acton and Dobbs figured that it would be helpful for me to have access to some of the files the department has on Death Eater suspects. These files are usually kept away from trainees but they were temporarily unsealed for me to read. I've made some copies of things I thought would be helpful. This is technically against regulations but Dobbs and Acton really wanted to help me out and said it would be okay._

_Anyway, how is your school project going Hermione? I hope you aren’t_ **_suffering_ ** _-_

Ginny laughed so hard she snorted here. 

_Too much. I found a book I thought you might like. Maybe it’ll help with your project. Let me know how you like it! Ginny, I would definitely be able to meet you in Hogsmeade in a few weeks for our date! Let me know what time would work for you._

_Love,_

_Harry_

Hermione couldn’t resist wiggling her eyebrows at Ginny and in her best impersonation of Lavender Brown whisper-squealed “Oooo a date! A date with Harry Potter!” This made Ginny give her a smack before pulling the paper off of the book Harry sent. It was a copy of _Hogwarts_ _a_ _History._

“Why would he send you this? You already have two copies.” 

“I don’t know. But maybe he found someth-” 

Hermione trailed off when she opened the book. The first page was clearly the cover page of an official document and had an enchanted photo of Narcissa Malfoy on it. 

“He sent us copies of the case files!” Ginny breathed flipping through the book, “He’s got Narcissa’s file, the official report on the riot, and the files of his prime suspects!” 

Hermione was really impressed. Pulling out her wand she ran a few diagnostic spells on the book. Harry had transfigured the parcel into the exact size and weight of a copy of _Hogwarts a History_. He also had charmed the book so that if anyone but Ginny or Hermione looked at it, they’d just see the innocent contents of the book. Ginny let out a low whistle. 

“Did you teach him that?” 

“No.” Hermione admitted flipping through the pages, “He must have learned that at the auror’s office.” 

“Nice! Well, let’s see what we’ve got.” 

They poured over the book until Ginny announced she had to go to quidditch practice. Hermione wished her luck and continued reading the reports. The two Death Eaters who had tried to take hostages and had stabbed Narcissa Malfoy were low level enough that Hermione didn’t recognize their names. Harry had left her a note on their reports that read _Low-level nobodies. Probably started as snatchers._ And then another reading _Dumb as rocks Hermione. Make_ _Goyle_ _look like Einstein._ What Hermione found more interesting were the files Harry provided on his suspects. The first he’d included was the file of Lucius A. Malfoy. He’d noted here, _Still think you might be barking up the wrong tree with this one. But who am I to doubt the Great and Powerful Granger?_ Hermione smiled. 

According to his file, Lucius Malfoy had largely acted as a glorified banker and accountant for the Death Eaters and for Voldemort. Most of the charges concerned money laundering, bribery, and loans to suspicious characters. There were charges concerning the use of Unforgivable curses but compared to the crimes of the others, Lucius was practically squeaky clean. 

Corban Yaxley’s file indicated someone who was a complete sociopath. Yaxley was fond of the imperious curse and used it on whomever he pleased. He also was charged with the murder of several muggles, prominent witches and wizards, and of being the puppet master who imperioused Pius Thicknesse, Minister of Magic, during the war. He also appeared to have been fond of using creatures classified as Beings for experiments. He had charges for torture and cruelty against centaurs, house elves, merfolk, and even some vampires. He was still on the run. 

Next was the file of Theodore Nott Sr. Hermione felt dirty reading it considering how fond she’d become of Theo Nott Jr. Nott Sr had domestic violence charges dating back to Theo’s infancy. He had been suspected in the murder of his wife, Gloria Nott but it was never proven. Nott Sr loved torture and often hosted and organized “Revels” where high ranking Death Eaters would do unspeakable things to muggles and muggleborns. Hermione couldn’t finish reading the descriptions as they were making her sick. Nott Sr was still at large as well. 

Third on Harry’s suspect list was Rodolphus Lestrange. Hermione was quite familiar with him and his doings but read on anyway. Rodolphus Lestrange was imprisoned following Voldemort’s first fall. He had been convicted of torturing Neville’s parents to insanity and had charges of multiple murders and crimes pending following the end of this second war. Rodolphus was calculating, intelligent, and without conscience. According to his file, he still believed that Voldemort would return again to continue his bloody reign. Most interesting was the note Harry had made _People seem to think he might be a Seer. He has a following in Azkaban even though he’s being kept in solitary. We aren’t sure how he’s doing it._

Hermione felt a jolt go through her when she read the next name: Euonymus Parkinson. She felt conflicted. On the one hand, she was dying of curiosity. On the other, it felt very wrong to get all this information on her peers’ parents. But she needed to know if some bigger danger was developing behind the scenes. Setting her jaw, Hermione flipped to the next page. Parkinson seemed to interact the most with the Malfoys, the Lestranges, and those Death Eaters who were considered “high society.” He was apparently obsessed with the perfect male heir and had turned to Voldemort seeking forbidden magical knowledge to ensure the continuation of the “pure” Parkinson line. 

He had several murder charges pending and he was being charged with unlawful imprisonment, kidnapping, and the illegal brewing and administration of amortentia on _his own wife_ . Hermione riffled through the pages, reading as fast as she could. Apparently once Mr. Parkinson had been imprisoned, his wife had been hospitalized with some very unusual symptoms. The healers at St. Mungo’s determined that her symptoms were withdrawal symptoms and had determined she was withdrawing from long-term use of _amortentia_ , the most powerful love potion in existence. Mrs. Parkinson had filed a report with the auror’s office alleging that her husband had been drugging her for over twenty years and that during that time he had physically abused both herself and Pansy. Pansy was due to testify at her own father’s trial. 

Hermione shut the enchanted book with shaky hands. Harry had also included the files of Walden MacNair, Antonin Dolohov, and Augustus Rookwood. But she had only been able to skim those files as her mind was still reeling with these revelations about Pansy and Theo’s family. A flash of light brought her attention back to Harry’s letter. A postscript had appeared. 

_P.S. Hermione these files are top secret and I could get into a lot of trouble for sending them to you. Please burn the book once you’ve finished reading it. I’m trusting you to do the right thing here. Burn any notes you took too. We both know you’ll remember everything anyway. - Harry_

With shaky hands, Hermione took the book and Harry’s letter to a nearby window. After ensuring no one was around to see what she was about to do, Hermione opened the window. Using her wand, she levitated the book and the letter out the window. With a whisper, bluebell flames shot from her wand incinerating the paper quickly. Then Hermione allowed the ashes to fall away and she closed the window again. Making her way back to her table, Hermione found herself wishing she had her own handy whiskey flask to take a drink from. She sat with a thump and put her head down on the table. Hermione took deep breaths mimicking an exercise she’d read about in one of her new books. 

_In, two, three. Hold, two, three. Out, two, three. In, two, three._

Someone tapped her shoulder. Looking up, Hermione saw the concerned faces of Theo Nott and Tracey Davies. 

“Hermione? Are you okay?” 

“Yes, I’m fine. I just... I got some upsetting news.” 

Tracey sat down next to her and began rubbing her back. Theo stepped closer, 

“Is there anything we can do?” 

Hermione gave them both a shaky smile. “Not really. But it means a lot for you to ask. Is everything okay?” 

“Well...” Tracey glanced at Theo helplessly. 

“Not to add to your bad news but, Pansy’s looking for you.” 

Hermione shot up from her seat. “Looking for me? What for?” 

Tracey looked very uncomfortable again so Theo said, “She was yelling about you. Called you all sorts of names, said you were trying to get us all into trouble. What did she mean?” 

“I don’t know. Maybe she-” 

“There you are!” Pansy’s voice was high pitched and shaking with rage. “What the hell is wrong with you Granger?! And what are you two doing?!” 

“Hermione got some bad news.” Tracey’s tone was conciliatory. She was clearly making an attempt to calm down the situation. 

“Hang her bad news!” Pansy flung her hands into the air, “Granger what the hell were you thinking writing to Narcissa Malfoy _and_ the Department of Magical Law Enforcement about her?!” 

Theo’s mouth dropped open and he stared at Hermione for a moment. Then in a very cold voice he said, 

“Granger is this true?” 

“Well yes but I-” 

“WHAT DID I SPECIFICALLY SAY?!” Pansy shrieked. 

Before Hermione could respond, Madam Pince descended to chase them all from the library. Hermione took advantage of Pansy being dressed down to whisper to Theo and Tracey. 

“I only wrote to tell them that she shouldn’t be sent back to Azkaban! After what’s happened to her and what she’d done for Harry and that guard, she should at the very least be allowed to go home. Be on house arrest.” 

This made Theo’s eyebrows rise towards his hairline. Hermione grabbed her things and the four of them were not so gently ushered from the library. Pansy didn’t even wait for the door to close before she rounded on Hermione. 

“You self-important, self-righteous bitch!” 

“Pansy!” Tracey gasped. 

“Who do you think you are?!” Pansy pointed a finger in Hermione’s face. 

“Pansy, Gra- Hermione was just trying to help.” Theo put himself between Pansy and Hermione. 

“We don’t need her help!” Pansy’s voice was shaking. “I just want her to leave us alone! We’re not safe!” 

“Pansy...” Theo’s voice turned soft. 

“No Theo! I don’t care what anyone says! We’re in danger! And you,” Pansy glared at Hermione, “I don’t know who you think you are! Looking down your nose at the lot of us! Spitting in the face of our traditions! You have them fooled but you don’t fool me! I know you’re just out for what you can get! I won’t let you hurt my friends!” 

With that, Pansy actually slapped Hermione across the face and ran away. Hermione sat in silence for a moment. Then the shock gave way to anger. 

_How dare she?! How dare that prejudiced, pug-faced twat-_

Pansy had dropped a book when she’d run off. Seeing the title just made Hermione’s rage intensify. 

_That smug little hypocrite!_

Hermione pushed herself to her feet, snatched the book off of the floor and made her way through the hallway to the common room. Tracey and Theo were somewhere behind her, calling out to her. But her rage muffled their voices and made them sound like a wireless broadcast with bad reception. She practically screamed the password and slammed open the portrait door. Pansy was seated at a table with her books open now looking much too calm for Hermione’s liking. 

“Alright Parkinson,” she snarled, “you want to have it out? Let’s have it out! Right here, right now.” 

“Oh Hermione, darling. _Do_ come in.” Pansy drawled, “I thought I heard you coming.” 

“Cut the crap Parkinson!” Hermione put her hands on the table and loomed over Pansy, “What is your problem!” 

“Problem!” Pansy shrieked, “You’re my problem!” 

Pansy stood and they glared at each other over the table. Hermione saw someone move in her peripheral vision and Pansy growled, 

“Don’t you dare interfere! She’s had it coming!” 

“ME?! _I’VE_ HAD IT COMING?!” 

“Yes, you Granger! You prance around like you own the school! Everyone’s favorite, goody-two-shoes school darling! You want to pretend that I’m the stuck up one?! Don’t make me laugh! Your lot acted holier than thou and looked down on everyone else just as much as we did! At least we were honest about it!” 

“That?! That is your defense?! You egotistical stuck up, pug-faced pureblood bint! You spent years making my life a living hell! Just because I had the audacity to be born outside of your hereditary little circle! Well, let me tell you something, everything I have I’ve worked for!” 

“Oh sure! Worked for! Like how you lot stole the House Cup out from under us? How you used Potter’s fame and fortune to get away with anything you wanted?! You’ve always done whatever you wanted and screw the consequences! Do you think my life is all sunshine and rainbows?! I dare you to spend even a day at my house and come out the other side!” 

The two girls were breathing heavily and still glaring. But something in the air had changed, Hermione could sense it. Hermione’s voice became dangerously quiet, 

“I spent my time getting put down and bullied by you, turned out of “meaningful” society all because of my “dirty” blood. Meanwhile, I’ve spent nearly a decade risking my life to save your damn society.” 

“You want me to thank you?! Fine! Thank you, Granger! Thank you ever so much for coming in and saving us all from our ignorance and backward ways.” 

Hermione threw up her hands, “You know that isn’t what I meant!” 

“Oh, isn’t it?! My parents were wrong but that doesn’t mean you get to come in and spit all over a culture and things you don’t understand!” 

“How can I understand if no one will ever teach me?!” 

“It isn’t my job to teach you!” 

“Well, it isn’t my job to teach you to treat other people like humans!” 

Pansy grit her teeth and after a pause said, “Fine. Agreed. We both fucked up.” 

“That’s all?! You’re not even going to apologize?!” 

“Apologize?! For what?!” 

“Everything!” 

“I was a stupid kid repeating what my parents said!” 

“That doesn’t make it alright!” 

Pansy slammed her fist into the table, “I already said it, my parents were wrong! _I_ was wrong!” 

“You tried to turn us in to Voldemort!” 

“I DIDN’T WANT MY PARENTS TO DIE!” 

Pansy’s shriek echoed off of the walls. Hermione blinked and Pansy looked down at last and in a shaky voice said, “I just didn’t want my parents to die.” 

The silence was oppressive, and Pansy’s shoulders began to tremble with suppressed sobs. Hermione felt her own eyes well up with tears. 

“I didn’t want my parents to die either.” 

They were silent for a few moments and then Pansy choked out a garbled laugh, 

“Can’t we just keep insulting each other? We’re good at that.” 

“Fine,” Hermione sniffled, “You pureblood brat.” 

“Swot.” 

“Hag.” 

“Know-it-all.” 

And then for some reason, they both started laughing albeit hysterically. Pansy sunk to the floor and Hermione followed her. Before she knew what had happened, both Hermione and Pansy were hugging each other and rocking slightly back and forth. 

“I’m sorry.” Pansy was repeating over and over, “I’m so sorry.” 

“I’m sorry.” Hermione replied, “I’m sorry too.” 

Pansy pushed Hermione away and sniffled, wiping at her eyes. 

“Does this mean we’re friends or something?” 

“Only... only if you can explain to me why you were reading _Pride and Prejudice_.” 

Hermione held out the book Pansy had dropped before, and Pansy took it and held it close to her chest. 

“It’s my favorite.” 

“Mine too.” 

Pansy’s tears came back in earnest, “You were always an Elizabeth. You’re still Elizabeth. And all I’ve ever been is, is _Caroline Bingley_. I don’t want to do that anymore. But I don’t know how to stop.”* 

Hermione paused, thinking. And then she took Pansy’s hand in her own. 

“You know, everyone always thinks very badly of Lydia Bennet. She did everything “wrong” and was always “too much.” Too loud, too uncouth, too flirtatious. But,” Hermione paused and looked Pansy in the eyes, “No matter what else you say or think about Lydia, you have to admit, it took real courage to turn away from what was expected of her and make her own way. Even if people said it was wrong. She made herself happy.” 

Pansy laughed but it still held an edge of hysteria, “How dare you! Me? Lydia Bennet? But… point taken Granger.” 

Hermione heaved herself to her feet and offered Pansy her hand. Pansy took it. Only then did they look around and realize they had an audience. Neville was watching them, his mouth wide open. Draco was inexplicably grinning off to one side. Tracey and Morag were hugging each other and crying in the corner. 

“Friends then?” 

“Okay. Friends.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *For those not in the know, Pansy is referring to characters from Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice." Elizabeth Bennet is the heroine: smart, beautiful, but not especially wealthy or blessed with a "good" family. Caroline Bingley is a minor character noted for being very wealthy, snooty, and constantly ragging on Elizabeth and her family.


	7. Quidditch Season

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.
> 
> Due to some things going on in my personal life, chapters are going to start coming more towards the two-week mark. Thank you for reading!

It seemed to Hermione that befriending a Slytherin was rather like trying to make friends with a cat. Once accepted, they were as good as friends as she’d ever had. But the acceptance was the hard part. Theo and Tracey were becoming a real pleasure to spend time with. Ginny had taken to Tracey right away and after an initial period of distrust, Ginny had decided that Theo was acceptable company. Luna got along with everyone. Pansy was still keeping Hermione at arm’s length. But Hermione was slowly making progress by talking about books they’d read. Draco was a mystery. He went hot and cold and it was a real puzzle trying to work out his moods and what made him tick. Despite their interaction at the bookshop, the next time they had Arithmancy together he didn’t make eye contact with her and largely ignored her. But in potions, he would partner with her and occasionally attempt general conversation. 

Hermione was determined though and, in any class possible, she would partner with another eighth year Slytherin. Hermione would eat meals with Ginny, Luna, and whoever would sit with them. When she felt brave enough Hermione even began to sit with the Slytherins by herself at meals. Draco was often treated to her company in the library after hours. Hermione even went so far as to offer Pansy a book from her private collection: _The Last Unicorn_ . Hermione provided a note with the book: _It’s muggle fantasy so_ _keep_ _that in mind._ Hermione was pleased when Pansy approached her outside of Potions class concerning the book. Even though it was only to reprimand her, 

“I read muggle fiction all the time Granger! I can suspend disbelief. _IF_ it’s good.” 

Two days later Pansy passed Hermione a note in Ancient Runes. _How dare you Granger! I was not ready for that! ...did Beagle write_ _any more_ _?_ Hermione almost jumped up from her desk with glee. Instead, she informed Pansy that _The Last Unicorn_ did not have a sequel or spin-off. Pansy’s response was a disappointed, “Oh hell.” Then one week later, Hermione’s overtures of friendship to Pansy went through their first real test. 

Hermione was walking on the second floor lost in thought when suddenly Crookshanks ran at her yowling. Hermione immediately dropped to her knees, 

“What is it Crooks? Are you alright?” 

But Crookshanks resisted any attempt to inspect him for injuries. Instead, he ran down the hall still yowling at the top of his lungs. Hermione followed him quickly and then pulled out her wand when he stopped yowling abruptly and started to stalk towards the girl’s bathroom. Pausing just outside the door, Hermione heard voices. 

“Oh, la dee da if isn’t Parkinson.” 

“What’s wrong Parkinson? Snake got your tongue.” 

Pansy must have pulled her wand because one of the girls yelled, “Expelliarmus!” 

“You fucking snakes! Always trying to hurt people! Why didn’t you just die?! Oh right, too cowardly to fight in the final battle.” 

“Give me back my wand!” 

“I don’t think so!” 

Hermione heard a loud smack and rushed into the room, wand drawn. Pansy was on the floor clutching her cheek. Three girls were standing over her and Hermione said, 

“Three on one hardly seems fair. Give her back her wand.” 

“Granger!” 

“This isn’t any of your business.” 

“I think it is.” Hermione’s voice was dangerously soft. She felt hyper-focused on the girls in front of her. “I said, give her back her wand.” 

Two of the girls started backing up, clearly frightened of the look in Hermione’s eyes. The third girl who was holding Pansy’s wand stared at her with shock. 

“What do you care?! She’s Death Eater scum!” 

Hermione glared, “Pansy is no more a Death Eater than I am. Last chance. Give her back her wand and get out of here.” 

The girl feinted left but before she could fire off a spell at Hermione, Hermione yelled, “Furnunculus!” Simultaneously another voice cried, “Stupefy!” And the girl fell to the ground as giant boils started popping out all over her face. Hermione glanced behind her to see who fired off the stunning spell. Ginny stepped into the bathroom from behind Hermione and picked up Pansy’s wand. Hermione still had her wand trained on the other two girls, one of whom started crying. 

“Get your friend and get out of here! If I ever see or hear about you bothering Pansy again, you’ll regret it.” 

The two girls picked up their stunned friend under the armpits and fled out of the bathroom. Ginny helped Pansy up and handed back her wand. Pansy steadily kept her eyes on the ground, her long black hair covering her face. 

“You alright Parkinson?” Ginny gruffly asked. 

Pansy nodded. 

“You, Hermione?” 

“Fine.” Hermione said eyeing Pansy. “Pansy, do you need to go to the hospital wing?” 

“No.” Pansy finally answered, “I’m... I’m fine.” 

But she was visibly shaking. Ginny took a deep breath and said, “Hey Parkinson? Pansy? D’you... d’you want some chocolate?” 

“What?” 

“Fudge. They weren’t dementors but chocolate never hurt anyone right?” 

Ginny opened her bag and unwrapped the homemade fudge, handing a piece to Pansy. Pansy took it and numbly took a bite. Chewing she said, 

“Where’d you get this? It isn’t from Honeydukes.” 

“My mum made it.” 

“Oh... your mum.” Pansy chewed and swallowed, “Is she nice? Your mum?” 

Ginny seemed surprised, “Well yeah. She’s alright. She and my dad are-” 

Ginny abruptly shut her mouth as Pansy started crying. Without thinking, Hermione wrapped her arms around Pansy. Ginny rubbed the back of her neck. 

“Bugger, I’m sorry. I forgot... your dad’s in...” 

“Fuck him.” Pansy gulped, “I hope he rots. I hope they all do.” 

Sniffling, Pansy extracted herself from Hermione’s grasp and started walking out the door. Pausing, she turned and looked at them, 

“Thanks. Weasley, Granger. I... Thanks.” 

That night Pansy sat with them at dinner and began to seek them out between classes. Hermione felt somehow simultaneously pleased and very sad. 

***

The next day Ginny was forced to actually flick Hermione in the temple to get her attention. 

“Hello! Hermione!” 

“Ouch!” Hermione shot Ginny a glare, “What?” 

“I was asking you whether you were going to come to our first match tomorrow! It’s Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff.” 

“Oh... I hadn’t given it much thought Ginny.” 

Ginny rolled her eyes, “Well I was hoping you’d come to show us some support. Without Harry or Ron or any of the old team, this is going to be a real tough one.” 

Hermione suddenly felt very guilty. She’d been so focused on S.U.F.F.R that she’d been neglecting Ginny. So, despite desperately wanting to get in some research, Hermione said, “Alright count me in.” Ginny’s face lit up with a smile Hermione was sure she hadn’t seen since before the war began in earnest. 

“Fantastic!” Ginny jumped up from the table. “I’ll talk to Neville. Make sure you get seats where you can see and where people will leave you alone.” 

As Hermione was watching Ginny walk away, someone dropped into the chair next to her. The smell of fresh grass and spicy cologne filled her senses. Before even turning around, she knew it was Malfoy. He was still in his quidditch uniform from practice and biting into an apple. 

“Are you going to the match tomorrow?” 

Hermione sighed, “Yes. I just promised Ginny.” 

“Hufflepuff doesn’t stand a chance.” 

This surprised Hermione, “Ginny just told me that she thought it would be a tough match.” 

Draco scoffed, “It’s Hufflepuff. Their team hasn’t been good in years.” Here he smirked, “Of course, you’ll all still loose miserably against us.” 

Hermione took a moment to size him up. Draco's posture was relaxed and there was a hint of a smile on his face. It seemed like he was just teasing her. Hermione felt warmth flood through her chest and she hid her smile behind her book. She scoffed, 

“Oh please! Gryffindor always flattens Slytherin.” 

“You want to bet on that Granger?” 

Something in his voice made a shiver run up Hermione’s spine. Looking up from her book, she saw he had shifted closer and his grey eyes were intense. 

“You don’t have anything I could possibly want.” she sniffed. 

Draco’s smile was practically predatory, “What about access to the Malfoy library?” 

This made Hermione perk up. Everyone knew that the Malfoy’s private library was one of the best in Wizarding Britain. But going to the Manor... Malfoy must have seen the shadow pass across her face at the thought of returning to the Manor. Smoothly he continued, 

“If Gryffindor beats us in our first matchup, I’ll bring you the library catalog and you can borrow any three books you want.” 

“And if Slytherin wins?” 

Draco paused and wet his lips with his tongue before he answered, “You have to spend a Hogsmeade weekend with me.” 

Hermione bit her lip. With access to those books, she could further her research on using magical therapy to cure trauma and brain injury. Cocking her head Hermione graced Draco Malfoy with a grin, 

“Okay, Malfoy. You’re on.” 

He held out his hand and she shook it. “I look forward to you buying me lunch at the Three Broomsticks Granger. I’m not a cheap date.” 

Hermione sputtered, “Just make sure you don’t leave anything off of the catalog. I don’t want the ministry approved version.” 

“Why Granger! Are you suggesting I would withhold information from the ministry?” 

Hermione just rolled her eyes and went back to her book. As Malfoy walked away, he flicked a piece of paper at her. The paper landed on her empty plate and transformed into an origami cat. Hermione couldn’t help but coo when the paper creature sat and began mime washing its face. Putting a protective spell on it, Hermione shoved it into her bag before anyone could see. 

***

The day of the quidditch game was clear but with a distinct nip in the air. Hermione was having trouble convincing herself to get out of bed. Someone knocked at her bedroom door. Hermione burrowed farther under the covers and cuddled closer to Crookshanks. The knocking came again, louder and more insistent. Hermione put her pillow over her head. 

“Open up Granger! We know you’re in there!” It was Pansy. 

Hermione directed an annoyed groan at the door. 

“Come on Hermione! We’re all going to get breakfast before the game! Let’s go!” Tracey shouted. 

Hermione sat up and flicked her wand at the door opening it. Standing in her doorway were Tracey, Morag, Pansy, and Luna. Hermione blinked half convinced she was dreaming. Luna was wearing an entire outfit of shockingly bright red with lion head earrings that were roaring at random intervals. Morag was carrying an enchanted “Go, Go Gryffindor!” sign. Most remarkably of all, Tracey and Pansy were wearing scarlet and gold and sporting buttons that proudly proclaimed: Weasley is Our Queen! Tracey bound into the room jumping onto Hermione’s bed making Crookshanks jump off with annoyed hiss. 

“Come on lazybones! Up! Up!” 

Hermione tried to protest but Luna just smiled and said, “We’ve already got your outfit.” 

Pansy folded her arms and said, “Come on Granger! If I’m going out in public in Gryffindor colors, the Golden Girl had better be with me!” 

Hermione allowed herself to be pulled out of bed. The top that was handed to her was definitely not one she owned. It was a finely woven crimson sweater with a golden lion on the front. Seeing Hermione’s confusion, Luna said, 

“Pansy and I made it! I wanted the lion to roar but Pansy said no.” 

“Your earrings will do all the roaring for all of us.” Pansy said going through Hermione’s clothes. “Here you go Granger! These will do nicely!” 

Pansy tossed a pair of black pants and short black boots at Hermione as well. As the girls chattered around her, Hermione couldn’t help but smile. She loved Harry and Ron dearly but having a large group of girlfriends was turning out to be pretty nice too. As they all wandered down to breakfast Hermione fell into step with Pansy, 

“Since when do you hang out with Luna?” 

“She makes people uncomfortable.” Pansy replied, “I kind of like that. Also, she says whatever she thinks. It’s nice. Oh, you need a button.” 

Pansy handed Hermione a Weasley is Our Queen button. But when Hermione went to pit it to her chest, Pansy stopped her. 

“No, no! Pin it to your hat! That sweater is much too nice to put a hole in it Granger!” 

Hermione took her hat off and pinned the button to the rim. 

“Nice!” Tracey said taking Morag’s hand, “We’ll get the food and then let’s get to the pitch!” 

“I’m supposed to be sitting with Neville!” Hermione suddenly remembered. 

But Tracey just waved her hand, “Taken care of. Oi! Longbottom! Take the food with you! Let’s go!” 

Neville came up carrying bag and a thermos. 

“Hey Hermione.” 

“Hi Neville. I see you were in cahoots with my kidnappers.” 

Neville actually blushed and said, “They can be very persuasive.” 

“Enough about that!” Morag was coming back with more food and another thermos, “Come on! We need to get good seats before the rest of the Hermione and Neville fan club shows up!” 

Neville carried all the food and drink allowing Morag and Tracey to hold hands again. Hermione raised her eyebrows at Pansy who just smirked in response. The group made their way up the stands on the Gryffindor side before settling in. Tracey pulled a pair of binoculars out of her coat before taking a mug of hot cocoa that Neville offered her. 

“This is going to be good!” 

Morag laughed, “You’re just saying that because you’re going to get a jump on their tactics for your match against them!” 

Tracey gasped dramatically, “What?! I, a Slytherin? Plot to take down Gryffindor’s quidditch team?! How dare you!” 

Hermione snorted into her hot cocoa and then took a deep breath of the bracing air. She began to do her breathing exercises as the chatter around her intensified. _In, two, three. Hold, two, three. Out, two, three._ The stands were filling up fast. But whenever anyone tried to take any more seats near them, Pansy just glared at them and the offenders would shuffle away. It became clear who she was saving the seats for when Hermione saw Draco and Theo making their way up the stands. Neither were wearing Gryffindor colors but Theo was sporting a button and carrying a Gryffindor flag. Draco was dressed all in black and carrying a notebook. 

“I can’t believe we’re sitting on the Gryffindor side.” Theo sighed as he sat down, “The shame of it all.” 

Draco sat next to Tracey, “Did I miss anything?” 

“Nope.” Tracey said looking through her binoculars, “Just the warming up.” 

“Room for one more?” 

Hermione shot up out of her seat, “HARRY!” 

Everyone around them turned to stare. Hermione flushed with embarrassment as Harry ran a hand through his hair. Draco scoffed breaking the tension, 

“Potter! Ready to watch you team get flattened?” 

“In your dreams Malfoy!” Harry sat down and turned away from the prying eyes. Smiling at Hermione he said, 

“Surprise!” 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Well someone wrote the ministry saying that there had been threats against certain members of Slytherin house. Despite the auror’s office claiming they’d be safe at Hogwarts, I volunteered to be a show of muscle.” 

Pansy laughed out loud, “You? Muscle?” before gesturing to Harry who still sported a light seeker’s build. 

“Laugh it up Parkinson.” Harry retorted good-naturedly, “Some people apparently find me intimidating. Can’t be too careful you know. Besides, I wanted to see my girls!” 

Harry smiled and indicated Luna and Hermione. That he wanted to see Ginny went without saying. 

“But who wrote to the ministry so that you could come?” 

Though no one answered Hermione's question, Pansy suddenly found the sky very interesting to contemplate and Draco’s cheeks turned pink. Hermione felt her eyes well up with happy tears. Harry coughed and pulled his ominoculars from his pocket. 

“Who’re the new team members? I don’t know them.” 

Neville and Tracey immediately started filling him in. Hermione took the opportunity to wipe at her eyes discreetly. As the teams took the pitch, a roar erupted from the stands. Far below them, Dennis Creevey flipped on his microphone and started his commentary 

“Welcome everyone to the first quidditch game of the season! It’s Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff and it’s a beautiful day! Let’s play ball!” 

*** 

Despite what Draco had said, it seemed like a close game to Hermione. The new Gryffindor Keeper had let in several goals and it was up to Ginny and her fellow Chasers to make up the difference. Ginny was directing her team, red hair blowing in the wind looking like an avenging Valkyrie. Hermione was tickled to see that Harry looked awestruck. 

The crowd gasped as Ginny and her two Chasers sped towards the Hufflepuff Chaser who had the quaffle. Hermione was sure they were going to collide but instead Ginny pulled up at the last second, intimidating the other player into dropping the ball. 

“And Weasley directs a successful Parkin’s Pincer! Ironside drops the quaffle and OH! That’s a backhand pass to Weasley and SHE SCORES!” 

The Gryffindor side roared in approval. 

“That’s a professional level move that is!” Someone shouted causing Harry to whoop. 

“That’s right Ginny! Give them hell!” 

Dennis was shouting into the mic with glee, “GRYFFINDOR SCORES! THAT’S 70 TO 70! WEASLEY TIES UP THE GAME!” 

Suddenly the new Gryffindor Seeker shot up into the air. 

“And Farris may have spotted the Snitch! Groat is in hot pursuit!” 

Tracy had her binoculars pressed into her face so hard they were leaving indents. 

“She’s faking,” Harry muttered and Draco nodded in agreement. 

And they were right, Farris suddenly dove down and then shot straight towards the Hufflepuff side goal posts. 

“FARRIS HAS THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!” 

Immediately Hermione’s group rose to their feet cheering and applauding. Even Draco stood and clapped. The majority of the group started making their way down the stairs towards the pitch. 

“I’ll want that library catalog within a day or two of our win against you Malfoy.” 

Hermione felt a prick on the side of her neck. Her vision started swimming and her hands tingled and went numb. 

“Just remember I like my whiskey straight when you buy me lunch. Do you hear that Granger? Granger...” 

Draco turned and saw Hermione reach for him as her eyes rolled back and she collapsed. 


	8. Poison

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for your comments! I promised myself I wouldn't keep you waiting too long for this update so here we go! Just know that due to some things going on in my personal life, chapters are going to start coming more towards the two-week mark. Thank you for reading!

“Granger!” 

Draco flung out his arms and caught her before she hit the ground. He gave her a firm shake but she didn’t react. Whipping his head around, he shouted, 

“Potter! Something’s happened to Granger!” 

Potter turned pale and shoved someone out of the way to desperately climb back up the stand’s stairs. Draco didn’t see any hex marks, but he couldn’t be sure she hadn’t been cursed. The crowd was too loud. Harry knelt next to them and put a hand on Granger’s forehead. 

“She’s burning up. We have to get her to the hospital wing.” 

Draco felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. Quickly he lifted one of Hermione’s eyelids. Her pupils were pinpoints and she was starting to sweat and shake. 

“She’s been poisoned.” 

Potter let out a curse, “I have a bezoar…” he pulled a glass vial from his pocket and enlarged it with a whispered spell. Draco opened Hermione’s mouth as gently as he could and Potter dropped the bezoar in. Draco began rubbing the column of Hermione’s throat. 

“Come on… Come on you little swot. Swallow it…” 

Draco was muttering to himself and Potter stood quickly. Putting his wand to his throat, Potter’s voice suddenly boomed out over the pitch. 

“EVERYONE MAKE A PATH! SOMEONE’S BEEN INJURED!” 

Potter then reached out to take Hermione, but Draco was too quick. Scooping up her legs, Draco maneuvered Hermione so he could easily carry her. Harry quickly shouted, 

“Expecto Patronum!” 

And a brilliant white stag erupted from his wand. Draco couldn’t help but stare at it, impressed. Potter went through the war and could still cast a corporeal patronus. That was true mental fortitude. Potter whispered to the stag and it took off in the direction of the Professors. He gestured for Draco to follow him and they both rushed down the bleachers as fast as they could. Students jumped out of the way gawking at famous hero Harry Potter. 

“Harry!” Weaslette’s voice carried over the crowd, “What’s happened?” 

“It’s Hermione! We have to take her to the hospital wing!” 

Draco was muttering to her. Utter nonsense he knew, but when he thought about Hermione dying, he felt sick. 

“Hang on Hermione. Hang on. It’s going to be alright. I swear if you die I’ll… I’ll…” 

But Draco trailed off because he realized he didn’t know what he’d do if she really died. He started running towards the castle overtaking Potter. Harry was forced to run to keep up with him. 

*** 

Draco paced like a caged animal in the Hospital Wing. Pomfrey was running diagnostics and Potter had run to McGonagall’s office to floo for backup. 

“You and Mr. Potter gave her a bezoar? That was quick thinking.” 

Draco grunted in response. Madam Pomfrey took Hermione’s pulse and checked her pupils. “The bezoar seems to have slowed down the poison but not stopped the spread. She’s running warm, pupils don’t respond to light. It seems to be attacking her vital organs. Was this ingested?” 

Draco shook his head, “We were all eating and drinking the same food.” 

“It must have been injected then. Quickly, we have to find the injection site. I might be able to get some traces of the poison.” 

He hesitated only for a moment before striding to Hermione’s bedside. Carefully Draco removed her jacket but, as he was setting it aside, he felt something in the pocket. Draco carefully reached in and pulled out a small bottle of clear liquid wrapped in parchment. Letters from the Daily Prophet and other publications had been cut out and glued to form a message. 

_I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow._   
_And I_ _waterd_ _it in fears,_   
_Night and morning with my tears:_   
_And I stunned it with smiles,_   
_And with soft deceitful wiles._   
_And it grew both day and night._   
_Till it bore an apple bright._   
_And my foe beheld it shine,_   
_And she knew that it was mine._

**_DO YOU SEE ME NOW?_ **

“Madam Pomfrey!” Draco held out the bottle. “This was in her pocket with a note!” 

Quickly the mediwitch took the bottle and ran to her office. Draco read the note again slowly trying to stamp down the panic running through his body. _Do you see me now?_ What could it mean? His hands shook and he instinctively felt his pockets for his flask. But at that moment, Potter burst through the door with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Professor McGonagall. Draco recognized Shacklebolt as a member of the Order of the Pheonix. Of all the aurors to send it couldn’t be a coincidence. 

“What’s happened?” Potter was looking frantic 

“We think she’s been injected with some kind of poison. There was a note in her pocket.” 

Potter snatched the note and read it twice his brows furrowed. 

“I don’t understand.” 

He handed the note to Kingsley. 

“Do you have any idea what the poison is?” Professor McGonagall’s voice was sharp 

Madam Pomfrey answered returning from her office. 

“This is a unique poison. One I’ve never seen before. But it is similar to the poison that was made to protect the-” here she paused, glancing at Draco. 

“The what?” Potter snapped impatiently. 

“Speak freely Poppy.” McGonagall ordered. 

“Well, it is similar to the poison Professor Snape made to protect the Philosopher’s Stone.” 

The entire room was silent for a moment before Professor McGonagall sat suddenly as though her legs stopped working. 

“That’s... that’s not possible. Professor Snape made that potion himself. It was his own creation and, so far as I know, he never revealed the recipe to anyone.” 

“But there is an antidote, right?” Potter ran a hand through his hair making it stick up in all directions, “Snape would never create a poison without an antidote. He was too careful!” 

Draco silently agreed with Potter. His godfather had always stressed to him the importance of knowing how to brew an antidote before one brewed a poison. If Snape had created a poison, he would have created a cure at the same time. 

Professor McGonagall shook her head, “It would have been with his private documents. And he would have never stored them just anywhere. When the office was cleaned out, we found no potions notes, formulas, or recipes, nothing of the kind.” 

“What about his old office and lab in the dungeons?” Kingsley asked, his deep voice surprising Draco. 

“They’re magically sealed and not even Bill Weasley was able to break into it.” 

Potter suddenly turned and punched the wall with a sharp crack. Draco flinched; Potter must have snapped a bone. Madam Pomfrey clucked her diapproval and moved to help him. But Potter, his face white, just waved his wand over his hand and muttered the episkey spell. Flexing his newly healed hand, Potter said, 

“We have to do something.” 

“I’m afraid Mr. Potter there isn’t much we can do.” 

“Someone will have to notify her parents.” 

“That will be difficult as they-” 

Potter bellowed, “HERMIONE IS NOT GOING TO DIE! I WON’T LET HER!” 

Then as though he’d had a revelation he said, “The resurrection stone! We can bring Snape back to question him!” 

“But you left it in the Forbidden Forest Harry.” Kingsley put a hand on Potter’s shoulder, “You could never find it in time even if you assume it is still in the same place.” 

“It’s better than doing nothing!” 

“We can question him.” 

They all stared at Draco in disbelief. Madam Pomfrey looked like she suspected he’d cracked under the pressure. Draco made eye contact with Potter. 

“Potter, you can ask him. Even without the stone.” 

“How?” 

Draco took a deep breath before answering, “We have his portrait at the Manor.” 

In the silence that followed his statement, Draco cursed internally. He was not supposed to tell anyone about the portrait, he’d promised his mother. But if Snape could save Hermione... If only she could live, it might be worth it. Potter was the first to compose himself, 

“There’s a portrait of Snape at Malfoy Manor?” 

“My... It was commissioned with his permission before his death. We have been keeping it at the Manor. They’re just like muggle paintings until the subject dies and we’ve kept it safe.” 

“Then we have to-” 

“You have to swear you won’t seize it! Or use it against us!” 

Kingsley and Potter exchanged a glance. But Draco was frightened, he was breathing quickly and his heart was pounding. If they sent his mother back to prison for this, he’d kill himself. But Kingsley spoke quietly to him, 

“He was your godfather, wasn’t he?” 

Draco nodded. 

“It isn’t illegal to have a portrait made of your godfather son.” 

“But he-” 

“He was cleared of all crimes by the Wizengamot. He’s a war hero. I can guarantee you that there are no charges that could be brought against you or your family. Can you take us to him?” 

“Even if he remembers the antidote or tells us where the formula is, we’d need a potions master to brew it.” Professor McGonagall spoke up, “Professor Slughorn might be capable but he isn’t as young as he used to be.” 

“I can do it.” Draco straightened his spine, “Whatever it is, I can do it.” 

Another pause and Kingsley glanced at the others. But then Potter said, “The only class Draco’s ever beat Hermione in was potions. If he says he can do it, he can do it.” 

Draco’s mouth fell open slightly at Potter’s praise but he quickly shut it. Draco felt a flash of pride and then said, 

“If you give me permission as a Senior Auror Shacklebolt, I can apparate you both to the Manor through the wards.” 

“What are we waiting for?” Potter pulled out his wand, “Let’s get to the school boundaries and go!” 

Kingsley nodded, “We’re all putting our trust in you Malfoy. Don’t disappoint us.” 

“No sir.” Draco found himself answering. 

The three men made their way quickly to the gates and from there Draco took them to the Manor with a pop. Inside the foyer, he called out. 

“Ellie!” 

A house elf appeared in a small pink dress. 

“Master Draco! Ellie was not expecting-” 

“Never mind that!” Draco interrupted her. He felt as though Hermione was glowering at him in disapproval for his tone with the elf. _You can be mad at me if you wake up_. Draco thought darkly. Then he said, 

“We need to see Master Snape Ellie. Can you take us through the special wards? I don’t have time to undo them.” 

“Yes, Master! Ellie can take Master Draco first and then-” 

“Malfoy you and Harry can go first. Then I can follow.” 

“As you say, sir.” Ellie nodded, her ears flapping. With a crack, Ellie put them through to the room Professor Snape’s portrait was in. Draco didn’t mention it to Potter, but this was his personal potions lab. Snape’s portrait hung across from Draco’s worktable and where his cauldrons would be if he was working on something. Snape’s eyes widened in his portrait, 

“Draco! What-?” 

Draco interrupted his godfather, a first. “Granger’s been poisoned and Potter and Shacklebolt are here with me.” 

On cue, Kingsley appeared with Ellie in the room. 

“Madam Pomfrey says that the poison is very similar to the poison you made to guard the Philosopher’s Stone. We need the antidote.” Draco said in a rush 

Snape’s black eyes narrowed, “You know as well as I do that similar is not the same. We’d need a sample of the poison for study.” 

Potter approached the portrait, “Here it is.” he took the glass vial from his pocket. 

Snape snapped, “That doesn’t help me! I cannot inspect it as I am! Still a dunderhead without my book Potter?” 

Rather than get angry, Potter actually smiled, “Good to have you back... in a sense.” Then he turned to Draco. “Here.” 

“Can I inhale?” Draco asked Snape. 

Snape nodded from his portrait, “You should be able to. My poison could not release noxious fumes as the room it was stored in needed to have clean air. If this is a derivative then it should be safe to smell.” 

Draco unstopped the vial and sniffed with his eyes closed. “Bitter smell with a hint of almonds. Earthy, not sweet.” 

“My poison was odorless. Whoever did this was not a Master. How was it administered?” 

“Injection we think.” 

“Interesting.” Snape put his hand to his chin, “Viscosity?” 

“Low viscosity. Almost like water.” Draco replied corking the vial and gently rotating it. “Clear even in the light.” 

“In spell light?” 

“Hold on.” Draco pulled out his wand. “Douse the lights, Potter.” 

Harry waved his wand, “Nox!” 

The room fell into pitch blackness. Draco lifted his wand and said, “Revelare lux.” and a green wisp of light immerged from his wand. He held the vial to the light and inspected it. 

“It doesn’t phosphoresce.” Draco tapped the vial with his wand and muttered a spell Snape had invented, “I used your modified Revelo spell, I don’t get anything.” 

Draco relit the room’s lights. To his immense relief, Snape was nodding. 

“We should be able to produce an antidote relatively quickly. Potter!” 

Potter snapped to attention and Snape continued, “Go back to the castle and have Professor McGonagall take you to my old rooms in the dungeons. I have a portrait there and can show you where I kept my journals.” 

“No one has been able to get through your wards.” Potter protested. Snape actually grinned showing his crooked teeth, 

“I outdid myself then. Has Professor McGonagall has been officially named Headmistress and recognized by the Board of Directors?” 

“What does that have to do with-” 

“Yes or no Potter!” 

“Yes.” 

“Good, then she should have been acknowledged by the castle as its master! She can order the wall to open for her. But once you’re inside my rooms, follow my instructions exactly. If you don't might lose an eye or something more valuable.” Snape's tone turned gleefully nasty at his last comment. 

Kingsley stepped forward, “I can do that Snape. One of us will need to be here to supervise Draco. Just in case.” 

Snape looked like he was about to say something nasty so Draco cut him off, “Alright, Potter you’re with me. Shacklebolt can go back to the school.” 

“I’ll meet you there Shacklebolt,” Snape said and Kingsley nodded. Ellie, who had been in the room the whole time, took Kingsley’s hand. 

“Ellie can take Mr. Shacklebolt outside the manor wards safely.” 

“Thank you, Ellie,” Kingsley said as they disappeared. 

“Now then,” Snape said folding his arms, “You two had better tell me everything. And get to work on a base for this antidote. Unless of course, you’ve lost the ability to work and speak at the same time.” 

Draco began summoning ingredients and pointed Potter to a cabinet in the corner. 

“The silver one Potter.” 

Potter found the appropriate cauldron and set it over the fire Draco started. They began to tell Snape about what had happened. Just as when he’d been alive, Snape listened quietly until they told him all the facts they had. 

“Has anyone checked Miss Granger’s” here Snape shuddered, “fan mail?” 

“No but she’s been ignoring most of it these days,” Potter answered, carefully chopping the dried caterpillars Draco had handed him. “It’s just the nutters writing to her now and-” 

Potter stopped cutting, “Oh.” 

“Oh.” Snape mocked, “Yes, _oh_ indeed. I think I hear Kingsley and McGonagall working at the wall. I’m going to meet them. Be very careful, we have no room for error here.” With that, Snape left his portrait. 

Potter threw down his knife. “Damn it! Why didn’t I think of that?” 

Feeling a strange sense of pity for his former rival, Draco said, “He enjoys making people feel stupid. If you think having him as a professor was infuriating, imagine what he was like if your parents invited him over for dinner parties.” 

Potter resumed chopping the caterpillars but he looked thoughtful. The two of them worked in silence. The base antidote was very easy to create. Draco could probably do it in his sleep. Once it was ready, Draco placed a stasis charm on the cauldron and they waited. 

They weren’t waiting long before Snape entered his portrait’s frame. He was carrying a piece of parchment. Harry looked confused until Draco said, “A good thing we followed your wishes and painted in the writing supplies.” 

“Indeed.” Snape was studying the notes he’d apparently made. “Is the base ready?” 

“Yes.” 

“Good. Now I hope you haven’t been drinking today. You’re going to need a clear head for this.” 

Harry sat in a chair in the corner and watched Draco work. It was fascinating. Draco and Snape’s portrait fell into an apparently familiar pattern. Draco worked, asked questions for clarification, and made sarcastic remarks. Snape gave as good as he got in terms of sarcastic comments and ordered Draco around offering advice if Draco appeared to have got stuck. It was strange for Harry to see Snape interact with anyone with something resembling friendly familiarity. At last, Draco dropped a lid on the cauldron and stoked the flames with his wand. Wiping a hand across his face, pink with exertion, Draco turned to Harry. 

“That’s it. But I have fifteen minutes before I have to add the final ingredient.” 

“Which is?” 

“I don’t know.” 

Harry stood from his chair and cried out, “What do you mean you don’t know?!” 

“Just what I said,” Draco snarled back, “I don’t know! It is something unique to the poison! It wasn’t in Sev- Snape's antidote or his original poison.” 

Harry started pacing, “How can we figure it out?” 

“We have what we need I just need to go back over what we know.” 

Harry’s mouth twisted into a bitter smile, “This is what Hermione is best at.” 

“Well if you’re going to be an auror, time to learn to think on your own!” Snape snapped. “Miss Granger can’t keep doing your homework forever!” 

Draco folded his arms and bit his lip, thinking. Then his grey eyes went wide. 

“Apple seeds.” 

“What?” Harry was sure he hadn’t heard correctly. 

“Apple seeds!” Draco rushed to a cabinet and began rummaging around. “The poem! The note!” 

“But when you smelled the poison, you said you smelled almonds.” Harry protested confused. 

“Yes!” Draco’s voice was muffled as he bent over another shelf, “Cyanide smells like almonds. A very common and deadly poison.” 

“What note?!” Snape’s portrait hissed, “You didn’t mention a note!” 

Draco reached into his pocket, pulled the paper out, and waved the note at Harry. Harry strode across the room, took the note and unfolded it, holding it for Snape to read. Snape’s eyes widened slightly, 

“That’s William Blake.” 

“Is it?” Draco finally emerged holding a jar of seeds. “He was your favorite, wasn’t he?” 

“He was.” Snape was re-reading the note, “This is from the poem, _The Poison Tree_. And as you said, it does mention his resentment as an apple. And as we know,” 

“Apple seeds contain cyanide.” Draco finished his sentence and began measuring out seeds. 

Draco checked his watch and pulled his stirring rod close. At exactly the fifteen-minute mark, Draco lifted the lid and tossed in the apple seeds. Then he stirred it several times clockwise and then counterclockwise. Harry peered into the cauldron. The potion was clear and he could see straight through to the cauldron’s bottom. But when Harry tilted his head, it shimmered in the light with all the colors of the rainbow. Draco quickly bottled some and brought it to Snape’s portrait to look at. 

“That’ll do.” Snape nodded. “Now get back to Miss Granger and quickly!” 

Draco yelled for Ellie and she appeared instantly. Before taking Draco’s arm to apparate, Harry turned to Snape, “Thank you, sir.” 

Snape waved them off, “Thank me if it works! Now go!” 

And they both vanished from the lab with a pop. 


	9. Antidotes and Adversaries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for reading! Chapters are going to start coming more towards the two-week mark but I am keeping on! Without further ado, let's get to it.

As soon as they reappeared at the school gates, Harry and Draco started running towards the castle. They took the stairs to the Hospital Wing two at a time. Draco’s lungs were burning and there was a stab in his side with each breath. But neither he or Potter stopped running. Draco was no  legilimens but he knew that they were both thinking the same thing:  _ Are we too late?  _ When they threw open the door, Madam  Pomfrey was keeping watch at Hermione’s side anxiously. Gasping, Draco said,

“We have it! It’s here!”

As soon as Madam  Pomfrey took the bottle, Draco collapsed. He gulped down air and watched nervously from his position on the stone floor. Using a large syringe, Madam  Pomfrey took a measure of the antidote and then injected it into Hermione’s arm. No one spoke and all eyes were on Hermione’s prone body. A faint glow appeared over her and the light danced over her skin. 

“It’s working,” Draco said almost unable to believe their luck. “Merlin, it’s working.”

The glow disappeared but Hermione didn’t open her eyes. Any worry Draco felt was dispelled when Madam  Pomfrey smiled as she took Hermione’s pulse and checked her pupils. 

“She’s out of the woods. Her body just needs to recuperate and rest. I’ll get some other potions into her to fix any internal damage. She should be awake by tomorrow. But I’ll be keeping her here for observation for several days.”

Potter let out an overwrought laugh, “She won’t like that. Missing class.”

Draco smiled, imagining Hermione’s face when she was told she couldn’t go to class. She was going to be horrified. His thoughts were interrupted by a timid knock on the door behind them. Turning he saw all of their friends in the doorway. Weasley was still in her quidditch uniform, Luna and Pansy looked as though they’d been crying. Theo had his arm around Tracey and Longbottom was hugging Morag.

“Can we, can we see her now?”  Wea s ley’s voice shook.

Madam  Pomfrey gestured for them to come in, “But only for a few minutes! Then you’re all going to have to leave.”

The ragtag group quickly shuffled to Hermione’s bedside. Ginny threw her arms around Harry and buried her face in his shoulder.

“She’s alright.” Harry told the group, “Draco managed to figure out the antidote. We got it to her in time.”

Luna studied Draco intently for a moment before approaching him. Opening her  arms, she asked, 

“May I give you a hug?”

Before he talked himself out of it, Draco opened his arms and embraced her. The girl who had been  tortured  in his family’s dungeons, the girl he’d snuck oranges to, the girl who was supposed to hate him. She hugged him tight and whispered, 

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

And suddenly he was surrounded by the rest of them.  E veryone was hugging and crying all at once. And in the center of them all, Draco felt his own eyes well with tears. But instead of desperately craving a drink, all he felt was relief. 

***

After everyone had taken a look at Hermione to  verify that she was still breathing, Madam Pomfrey kicked them all out. Everyone stood awkwardly in the hallway for some time. Then Pansy said,

“Well, should we all go back to the common room?”

Everyone seemed to be in agreement with her and they all began making their way to the third floor where the eighth years stayed. Potter seemed very impressed by the place.

“This is nice.” He said looking around briefly. Then Theo shoved a whiskey into his hand and Tracey pushed him onto a chair. Draco found himself refusing when Pansy offered him a drink. Snape had been right, he needed to be clear-headed for this. Once everyone was settled in, the group started questioning Draco and Harry.

“Something is definitely going on,” Longbottom said, his face grim. “The riot, Mrs. Malfoy being stabbed, and now this?”

“Hogwarts is supposed to be safe,” Harry said, frowning into his glass.

“We’d like to  think  that.” Tracey said, “But we all know the truth. It’s  _ safer _ but not impossible to get into. I mean, just look at the year Sirius Black was out of prison.”

Potter’s jaw tensed before he responded, “Yeah I guess you’re right.”

“So, what are we going to do about it?” Weasley said, looking very determined. “We can’t just let this keep happening!”

“You lot are the experienced ones when it comes to hunting down Dark Wizards and defeating  megalomaniacs .” Theo quipped, “What do we do?”

Potter looked around seeming to realize for the first time just how many Slytherins were present. Then Potter ran a hand down his face, suddenly looking very tired.

“I’m in the middle of being transferred to a new team of aurors.”

“The  flobberworms got the sack?” Ginny grinned, “Good.”

“Not good.” Harry groaned, “Well, good but not for us. While they’re waiting to transfer me, I have even less right to anything official that could help.”

“What about the fanmail?” Morag offered, “We could start with that. If  weirdos  are still writing to Hermione, it’s a good place to start.”

“She’s been throwing it all out.” Ginny answered, “I don’t know if we could even look into any of it.”

“There is the note.” Draco held out the note that had been in Granger’s pocket.

“I’ll have to take it for evidence,” Potter said, clearly embarrassed. “But everyone  take a look at it first. I have no idea what it’s all about.”

They all passed around the note. Pansy was the first to comment, “This is William Blake. But whoever sent this wrote it down wrong. In the poem, the rival is a he, not a she.”

“ So, it was changed to target Hermione.” Tracey replied, “It isn’t the whole thing either is it? And what’s this ‘do you see me now’ nonsense? Creepy!”

“The poison was injected into her. “ Draco said, “Whoever did it had to be close enough to touch her at the game.”

They all sat in silence contemplating that unpleasant piece of information. Then Luna said,

“It might be time to restart the DA don’t you think?”

“You might be right Luna.” Neville agreed.

“What’s the DA?” Morag asked keenly.

“Dumbledore’s Army.” Weasley, Luna, Potter, and Neville all replied at once.

“Oh, that little club you lot had fifth year?” Pansy said wrinkling her nose, “What did you even  _ do _ ?”

“Defense against the dark arts training fifth year. But last year it was more of... guerrilla warfare.” Longbottom replied looked remarkably pleased with himself.

“I’m game.” Morag said, “Count me in.”

The Slytherins all looked at one another.

“This isn’t just for Hermione.” Potter said, “ No one is l istening to us, but both Kingsley and I think something big is going on. Someone is planning something and I think it’s one of the Death Eaters still on the run. Whoever it is already made it clear they don’t care about who is on what side anymore. Look what they did to Draco’s mother.”

“Or they see all of us and our families as traitors,” Theo said, a hand to his chin. “It’s common knowledge now that Narcissa lied for you, Potter. Pansy’s not been in contact with her father and I’ve washed my hands of my sperm- don o r too.”

Silence again until Pansy stood, “Look, I’m not going to pretend I suddenly want to play the hero.  _ But  _ no one hurts my friends or their families. And whether I like it or not, somehow Granger’s become my friend. So, I’ll help. But we have to change the name. Dumbledore's Army? Terrible.”

The Gryffindors looked offended but Draco just laughed. Typical Pansy. Potter stood,

“We don’t need to decide anything tonight, I guess. But everyone  keep an eye on Hermione while she’s in the hospital wing. Until we know how she got poisoned and by who, we need to-”

“HAVE CONSTANT VIGILANCE!” Ginny and Neville shouted, clearly impersonating Mad-Eye Moody.

“Right.” Potter agreed, with a crooked smile. He held his hand out for the note, “I’m going to head to McGonagall’s office. Kingsley and I need to get this in for evidence and they are going to want written reports.” Harry rolled his eyes at the thought of the official reports.

Potter stood, threw back the rest of his drink, and made his way to the portrait hole. Draco stood and followed him. Outside the portrait, Potter paused before turning to face Draco.

“Malfoy,” he said, “I don’t know how we got here, but thanks.”

And Harry held out his hand. Draco looked down at it,  remembering their first year and his own proffered hand that was turned away. This time, Draco met Harry’s gaze and said,

“I’m figuring out who the right sort of wizards  are on my own these days.  We’ll see  what happens  Potter. Hopefully, my judgment has improved.”

Draco shook Harry’s hand. Harry smiled and said, “Keep an eye on Hermione for me okay? She’s bloody brilliant but she isn’t perfect. She finds trouble even without me around.”

With that, Harry turned and walked away. Once he was out of earshot Draco said,

“I don’t know that I could stop watching her if I tried.”

***

When Hermione woke up, she felt like her skin was on fire and a scream ripped from her throat. Someone rushed to her side and poured a potion down her throat. Whether it was the potion or the pain, she fell back into blissful unconsciousness. When she woke up the second time, she just felt achy all over. Shifting, she slowly sat up. Madam  Pomfrey was at her side in an instant helping her prop herself up on some pillows.

“Easy now. You’ve been through quite an ordeal! Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter got you the antidote just in time.”

“Antidote?”

“Yes.” Madam  Pomfrey looked grave and handed Hermione some water, “You were poisoned at the quidditch match.”

As Hermione drank greedily, Kingsley’s face appeared around the curtain separating her bed from the rest of the room. 

“Hello, Hermione.” Kingsley pulled a chair close to her bed and sat. “I’m here to take your statement.”

“My statement?”

“Yes. How much do you remember?”

Hermione paused to think. “I remember the game. I remember Harry surprising us.”

“We are extremely lucky that Harry insisted on coming to the school. The rest of the department didn’t want to be bothered. It doesn’t pay to ignore that boy’s instincts it seems.”

Hermione nodded before continuing, “Ginny was amazing and we won the game. Then Draco was teasing me and then...”

She trailed off trying to remember, “I felt a prick. On my neck. And then everything started swimming. And then I woke up here.”

“You don’t remember anything else? No one suspicious? Nothing out of the ordinary?”

Hermione shook her head, “I’m sorry.”

Kingsley sighed, “That is what I was afraid you’d say. Do you mind showing me where you felt the pinch on your neck?”

Hermione pulled her hair to the side and indicated the area. Kingsley leaned forward to look, keeping a respectful distance. Sitting back in his chair he continued,

“Now Hermione, I have to ask you this. Did Draco Malfoy or Theodore Nott act suspiciously at all?”

Hermione glared at him, “No! Theo wasn’t even near me when I went down! He was halfway down the stands! And Draco was in front of me! There is no way either of them did this.”

Kingsley raised his hands in a placating way, “I understand Hermione. And I believe you! But they expect me to ask. This was a unique poison, someone tailor-made it. Potentially just to harm you. I have to cover all possible angles.”

Hermione felt the blood drain from her face. “ Just what exactly was this poison ?”

“ I was d erived from the poison Professor Snape made your first year to protect the Philosopher’s Stone. For the perpetrator to know that formula means it had to be someone very close to Snape. That is why I have to ask about Malfoy and Nott. Malfoy was his godson, Nott one of his best students.” 

Hermione let herself sink into the pillows holding her up. Kingsley explained to her exactly what happened. By the time he was finished Hermione’s brain was in overdrive. Kingsley handed her a copy of the note that was left in her pocket. Hermione read it several times.

“Can I keep this?”

Kingsley shrugged, “It’s just a copy so I don’t see why not. But Hermione,” here he became serious again, “do  _ not  _ go looking for trouble. And do  _ not  _ underestimate this person. They were able to get within arm’s reach of you at Hogwarts without being noticed.”

Kingsley stood, “Thank you for your time. I’ll let you know if there are any developments in your case.”

“Thank  you, Kingsley .” 

With that, Kingsley left leaving Hermione to her own thoughts. She was bedridden all of Sunday and, much to her displeasure, Hermione was informed that she would have to miss classes on Monday. She argued until Madam  Pomfrey threw up her hands shouting, 

“YOU HAVE SUFFERED SEVERE NERVE DAMAGE AND NEAR ORGAN FAILURE! YOU WILL BE STAYING HERE FOR OBSERVATION AND THAT IS FINAL!”

Hermione pouted for half an hour after that. She spent the rest of Monday lost in thought and was still glaring at the coverlet with her arms folded when Theo came to visit.

“Well, you can’t be very sick if you’re that angry.”

Hermione  felt a rush of happiness seeing him , “Theo!”

He bowed, “In the flesh. You gave us a real scare Granger. I come bearing gifts.”

With a flourish, Theo produced Hermione’s school bag with her homework, notes, and a few books. Pulling out his wand, Theo conjured her a lap table and set it across her lap in bed. Taking Kingsley’s now vacant chair Theo chit-chatted with her for a while before leaning back and folding his arms.

“So, you should know that Potter is worried enough that he and the rest of your merry band have suggested restarting the DA.”

Hermione coughed and spat the water she’d been drinking. Theo  continued as though she hadn’t made a sound.

“The rest of us are on board but we insist on changing the name. You understand of course. Supporting Gryffindor against Hufflepuff is one thing, but ‘Dumbledore’s Army’? Can’t be done. We’ll need a new name.”

“Well if you wanted a say in the name, you should have been at our first meeting,” Hermione responded primly.

Theo smiled at her, “I wasn’t invited. Isn’t there a way to add this to the new business of the next meeting?”

“I’ll check with my secretary.”

Leaning forward, Theo put his hand on Hermione’s arm, “You know you can trust us, right?”

“I do trust you. And I told Kingsley if the  aurors questioned you and Draco they’d be wasting their time.”

“Well, they did as us some questions. But they didn’t treat us like suspects for once which was nice. Now I’ve been thinking,”

“Uh-oh.”

“ Haha Granger. But seriously, about Narcissa Malfoy. You know they’re releasing her from the hospital on house arrest today?”

“ No, I hadn’t heard.”

Theo hummed, “You need to understand, Narcissa Malfoy is  an... interesting person .”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Of course, you wouldn't. But, well she’s been like my second mother since I was a kid. I used to go to The Manor all the time for playdates. So did Pansy. Our home lives weren’t the best.”

Theo looked down at the floor before continuing. “I get the feeling she always wanted a house full of kids. But it never happened that way so she kind of took us on. My mother died when I was young and Narcissa was always fussing over my drawings, making Draco share with me. When I was over, she treated me like family. Pansy’s mother never had eyes for anyone but Mr. Parkinson and Mr. Parkinson always wanted a son. So Pansy was never important to anyone  until  Narcissa. Narcissa always had little gifts for us. Candy or books or toys.”

“Okay so she was a saint I get it.”

Theo shook his head, “Of course she wasn’t! We all knew our parents were part of the same club. Narcissa included. Now, how much she believed the pureblood superiority line I don’t know. But she was never as rabid as my father and certainly not to the extent her sister was. It’s just... It’s always been hard to square away the woman I knew with the masked people who stepped out with The Dark Lord. She might have done horrible things, I don’t know. But I do know that she always seemed a bit... lost.”

Hermione pondered this.  When looking over  the Death Eater files Harry had  sent , she had carefully gone over both Malfoy parents. Narcissa, in particular, didn’t appear to have been charged with anything heinous. But could it be that they just didn’t have evidence? There had been mothers in the Nazi party of Germany after all. Theo seemed to sense her turmoil.

“I’m not saying you have to love her or even trust her. But I thought it was important for you to get the whole picture. My point is, the more I’ve thought about the riot, the more convinced I am that Narcissa was attacked as a warning or as a test. For Draco, for his father? I don’t know. Maybe they meant to test Narcissa’s loyalty to ‘the cause.’ Would she participate in the takeover? Or would she ‘betray’ her brethren? If it was a test, then she failed in the eyes of the Death Eaters. She tried to save a guard and stop the riot. That puts her on the “Light Side” definitively. If she had been sent back to Azkaban, I am certain she would have ended up injured or dead.”

They sat in silence for a while and then Theo stood, “Even if he never thanks you, just know it means a lot to Draco, to all of us, that you wrote have Narcissa put on house arrest. You probably saved her life.”

Then, sounding much more like his usual self, Theo said, “I’ll make sure you get notes from all your classes. Wouldn’t want Golden Granger to fall behind.”

Hermione snorted, “Just make sure they’re legible and cover  _ everything _ . Every word. ”

“That’ll cost you extra.”

“So? What do you want?”

“Think of a new name.”

And with that Theo left Hermione alone again.

***

Tuesday was agonizing. Hermione was bored and unfortunately, the nerve damage she had suffered seemed to have affected her hands the most. She would get numbness and tingling in her fingers if she held a quill for too long. After the fourth time this happened, she threw down her quill in frustration leaving a massive inkblot on her parchment. Groaning in frustration, Hermione fisted her hands in her hair. 

“Excuse me, Miss?”

Pushing her hair from her face, Hermione looked down and saw an elf at her bedside. 

“Yes?”

“Begging your pardon Miss, but Miss has some letters. Some of them are from abroad. Would Miss like her mail brought here?”

“Oh yes please!”

The elf quickly popped away and returned with three letters and a package.

“Here you are Miss!”

“Thank you!”

The elf curtsied and apparated away. Hermione didn’t recognize the handwriting on the package and it had no return address so she put it aside. The first letter was from Narcissa Malfoy. Fumbling, Hermione slit open the heavy cream envelope. The parchment was very fine and lightly scented with perfume. Narcissa’s handwriting was elegant and very neat. It read,

_ Dear Miss Granger, _

_ I was quite surprised when Mr. Potter informed me that you had written to the authorities on my behalf. I would like to thank you for your efforts. I am home at the Manor now and feeling much better. Draco has informed me that you were the victim of a horrible attack this past weekend. I hope you are recovering and that this letter finds you well. If there is anything that I can do to help you during this trying time, please do not hesitate to let me know. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Narcissa Malfoy _

Despite the almost friendly tone of the letter, Hermione was shaking by the end of it. Taking deep even breaths, she set the letter aside to deal with later. The second letter was from Australia and she set that aside as well. She did not want to read or respond to that one in her current state. The third letter was from Ron in Romania. Eagerly Hermione opened the envelope, excited to finally hear from him. Ron’s handwriting was as messy as ever and it took Hermione a moment to decipher the words.

_ Hermione, _

_ When you decided to leave for Australia, I didn’t stop you. But now Ginny says you’re trying to play house with the Slytherins and with Malfoy! He’s a Death Eater Hermione! Or did you forget? They killed Fred! I’d ask you what you were thinking, but I don’t think you’re thinking at all. _

The letter continued in the same vein for a whole page. Ron questioned her motives, her sanity, and even her friendship with him. Worst of all, he brought her parents into it.  _ What would your parents think? After all you did to protect them!  _ Tears began streaming from Hermione’s eyes at that. It was a low blow. Especially because Ron never even asked how her parents were or how she was. It seemed like he just wanted to rage at her. Folding the letter, Hermione brought her knees to her chest and rested her forehead on them. With her hair curtaining her from the rest of the world, she started to cry in earnest.

When she heard shuffling to her right, Hermione quickly wiped her eyes and tried to hide her tears. But she knew she looked a mess. Glancing up, she saw the blonde hair and grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. He didn’t comment on her appearance, he just sat near the bed. After a moment, he held out his hand. Clutching it, Hermione started to cry all over again. She cried until she felt wrung out and when she was done, she leaned back against the pillows. Draco never let go of her hand.


	10. Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory: I do not own Harry Potter! This work has been created for fun and NOT for profit.
> 
> A special thanks to unicornthorns for beta reading and for their continual encouragement.
> 
> Thank you, everyone, for reading! Chapters are going to start coming more towards the two-week mark but I am keeping on! Without further ado, let's get to it.

“ So, what did my mother say to you that upset you so much?”

Blinking, Hermione rolled onto her side, so she was facing Draco. He didn’t appear to be angry at the thought of his mother writing to her, just resigned.

“Did she tell you she was going to write to me?”

He shook his head, “No. But she’s worn the same perfume all my life and I have a good nose.”

Hermione handed him the envelope with Narcissa’s letter in it. “ She didn’t say anything terrible. Still, though ,  I don’t know how to respond . If I should respond. ”

Draco read the letter and laughed hollowly, “This is so typical.”

Hermione didn’t say anything, she just waited to see if he’d elaborate. Draco massaged his forehead before turning in his chair towards her. 

"It’s all politeness and ‘do let me know how I can help  _ you _ .’ As though you two have always been friendly acquaintances. Like the war never happened.”

Hermione laughed nervously, “I thought it was odd. But I’ve never said two words to your mother so I wasn’t sure...”

Draco shook his head, “I don’t even understand her, and I’m her son. I know she loves me but beyond that,” he shrugged, “I have no idea why she does anything.”

“Really?”

“I mean she’s my mother. It isn’t like we have deep conversations about anything.”

Hermione frowned, thinking of her own parents. They’d always been so supportive and she could talk to them about almost anything. Seeing her face, Draco’s cheeks turned pink and he asked,

“Is that strange?”

She hesitated and then said, “Well not everyone is close with their parents.”

“Are you?”

“Am I what?”

“Close with yours?”

Hermione flinched and Draco rapidly back peddled, “You don’t have to tell me-”

“It’s... It’s just complicated.”

“Is it because you’re a witch and they’re not?”

When she didn’t answer Draco quickly said, “Tracey’s told me she’s had some trouble with her father. Because he’s a muggle.  So, I thought maybe...”

Hermione rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. The room was silent, Madam  Pomfrey must have gone out. Hermione let out a shuddering breath and then she said,

“I had to  obliviate them. When the war really started.”

“Merlin, Granger I’m-”

Hermione cut him off, “It was for their own safety. No one could guarantee that Voldemort,” Draco flinched but Hermione pressed on, “wouldn’t come after them to get to me. And I couldn’t have that. If we were going to find the Horcruxes, I couldn’t be worried about them. I couldn’t...”

Hermione trailed off and bit her lip. She took her deep measured breaths and tried to ignore the stinging sensation of her eyes tearing. She didn’t know why she was telling him this. But the silence of the room, the semi-darkness of the evening, the curtain separating them from the rest of the world, it all created a bubble. A safe space occupied by just the two of them. Once she started talking about her parents, she couldn’t stop.

“They’re in Australia. I went to see them this summer, after everything. I tried to undo the spell. But... but it didn’t work. Removing a single memory, an event, that’s easy to counteract. But removing a whole person, nearly twenty years of memory? I... I...”

She trailed off and felt Draco take her hand again. 

“We don’t have to talk about it.” he said firmly, “You don’t owe anyone an explanation. Especially not me.”

They sat in silence for a time and then in a quiet voice, he said,

“I don’t know why she wrote to you but you don’t have to write to my mother.”

“It seems rude not to.”

“Well, considering everything , I think you’ve earned the right to be rude. No one is going to judge you for being rude to  _ my  _ family.”

“Mal- Draco. You’re not your parents. You don’t have to be.”

He didn’t respond so Hermione rolled over to look at him again, “You saved my life. And you know, your mother saved that guard. She-”

“She did that because it would get her sympathy.” Draco spat.

Hermione’s eyes went wide, “What? But Harry said, said they were friends.”

Draco slumped in his chair, “I don’t know. I don’t know  _ why  _ she saved him. But  I can’t say it was just out of the goodness of her heart. Maybe it was. Maybe it wasn’t. Seems convenient though doesn’t it? She comes out of it free and clear and is allowed to go home.”

“Draco,” Hermione said gently. “Do you really believe that? She was in critical condition.”

He met her eyes then and for once she could read him perfectly. He was lost.

“I don’t know Hermione. I don’t know why my parents did what they did. I don’t know why they do  _ anything _ .”

Hermione sat up then, “You said my name.”

They both flushed red and looked away. Draco dropped her hand and Hermione bit her lip. Draco coughed and ran a hand through his hair. Hermione decided to change the subject completely, that seemed safest.

“Theo said you were all talking about starting up the DA again.”

“Yes. Potter did mention that.”

“I...” Hermione set her jaw then, “I didn’t come through this war just to die now. Especially not at the hands of  a  coward who can’t even face me. But I don’t want to put everyone else in danger.”

He scoffed, “We’ve all been in danger for years. Investigating this wouldn’t change anything.”

“You’d join the DA?”

This made him look at her again, “Do you want me to?”

“I... yes I do.”

“Then consider it done.”

He stood then and pulled papers from his bag brusquely, “Here are all the notes for your classes. Everyone pitched in on them.”

“Thank you.” Hermione frowned, he was putting distance between them again, erecting a barrier. She didn't like it but she didn’t know what to do. He turned and left,

“See you around Granger.”

***

“My brother is an IDIOT!” Ginny was red-faced and looking  disturbingly like her mother.

Hermione blinked twice; she had not been expecting  that  reaction at all.

“Who the hell does he think he is?! How dare he?!”

Ginny actually slammed her hands on the breakfast table making everyone around them turn to stare.

“Ginny, it’s okay I just-”

“IT MOST CERTAINLY IS NOT OKAY!” Ginny screeched before quieting her voice to an enraged hiss, “Hermione you almost  _ died _ ! The only reason you’re still alive for him to yell at is because of Draco Malfoy! Also, to bring your parents into it?? That’s... it’s disgusting!”

“He’s just upset and-”

“Upset? We are  _ all  _ upset! We all miss Fred! We all know someone who died! He isn’t the only one who lost a brother! But he’s the only one who ran out on everyone!”

Ginny closed her eyes and took deep shuddering breaths. Hermione reached out and took her friend’s hand. Ginny flinched away and a single tear rolled down her cheek. Sniffing loudly, Ginny wiped the tear away angrily. She stood quickly and grabbed her bag.

“Hermione  _ no _ _ t one of us is oka _ _ y _ . Ron doesn’t get a pass to be foul to you because of this.”

“You’re not going to write back to him, are you? I don’t want to cause any trouble. I know your mother is still upset with me and-”

Ginny stopped Hermione with a raised hand, “I’m going to write to mum and tell her  _ exactly  _ what her son said. Mum will handle Ron don’t you worry. And I’m going to tell Harry too. Don’t look at me like that Hermione! You’re not the one in the wrong here, he is!”

Sighing, Ginny put her hand on Hermione’s shoulder, “No one is okay right now. But if Draco bloody Malfoy can be civil,  _ better  _ than civil, Ron really has no excuse. I’m on your side.”

Hermione managed a small smile, “Thanks, Ginny.”

“I’ll see you in class, I’m going to write to mum right now.”

With that, Ginny hurried away leaving Hermione to her toast and eggs. Hermione spent the day lost in her own thoughts. She’d sent the package she had received to the  auror’s office without opening it. She received a letter stating that the package had simply contained a fruit cake. This left Hermione feeling very embarrassed and a little bit like she was losing touch.

It was maddening to be without any information, any clues, or any insight into the case. Without anything else to do, Hermione obsessed over the note that had been left in her pocket. She had the poem snippet memorized at this point and had quickly found the full piece in the library as well. Like a refrain, her mind repeated  _ The Poison Tree  _ over and over. The poem expressed repressed resentment and the feelings which lead to a person to murder. But the thing that puzzled Hermione the most was that her attacker had not included the last stanza of the poem. The poem ended with the death of the writer’s foe, poisoned by the apple grown and watered with resentment. If her attacker meant to murder her, why not include the final stanza? Did they mean to kill her or simply to get her attention?  **_ Do you see me now? _ **

Her attacker couldn’t know for certain that she would have lived. It was pure luck that Harry had been there with a bezoar, slowing the poison. It was also pure luck that Draco had been able to determine the antidote and brew it in time. Or had it? The attacker had provided the poison after all. They had to know her pockets would be searched and the poison found. It was also possible that the attacker had spies at the ministry telling them that Harry Potter would have been at Hogwarts that day.

The final straw of frustration that broke her came when her fingers went numb  again. Hermione had been trying to write out a timeline of the day she had been poisoned. But her fingers went numb and blots of ink ruined her notes for the third time in a row. Hermione let out a strangled scream and threw the ruined parchment into the fireplace. She was tempted to throw everything into the fireplace. Her ink, her notes, her quill, her traitorous hands that refused to do as she commanded. Before she could reach for another thing though, Draco Malfoy was pushing a potion vial into her hand.

“What’s this?”

“A potion obviously.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “What kind of potion?”

“The kind for you to hurry up and drink.”

Hermione just stared at him and he sighed as though elaborating caused him great pain, “It’s a nerve regeneration potion. Experimental stage still but I’ve had great results on myself so far.”

“You’ve been testing something this complicated on yourself??”

He shrugged, “I’m not likely to find willing test subjects, am I? When dear Auntie Bella  crucio’ed me within an inch of my life, I started getting numbness and tingling in my hands. Severus, Professor Snape, theorized she’d done some permanent damage. When he was able to confirm it, we started working on this together.”

“Madam  Pomfrey said it would pass.”

He snorted, “Madam  Pomfrey means well but if it was going to pass it would have. ” Then more gently he  said, “ You don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to. But it won’t hurt.”

Hermione studied the vial for a moment. Then she said,

“What color was my dress at the Yule Ball our fourth year?”

“Blue,” he answered quickly. 

“And what did I say I smelled the sixth year when we studied  amortentia ?”

For some reason, this made him smile, “Fresh grass, parchment, and then you muttered something I can only assume referenced Weasel. Though I hope that the last one was due to you  hitting y our head before class.”

“Well, it really is you then.” Hermione smiled at him. Then toasting him , s he drank the potion.

The potion’s texture was foul. Slimy and slick like she was swallowing a slug. But the taste was rather nice, herbal with a hint of peppermint. She must have made a face because Draco laughed.

“I haven’t been able to fix the texture yet. I might never honestly. But I think the flavor is much better than when I started.”

Hermione handed the vial back to him and he pocketed it. They sat staring at the fire together until she said,

“So, about the DA.”

“I think you mean the IHDA.”

“The what?”

“The Inter-House  Defense Alliance.”

“Good one.”

“It isn’t hard to come up with something better than SPEW.”

“S.P.E.W.!”

“Whatever.”

“I was thinking we could all meet in Hogsmeade this weekend. At the Hogshead.”

“Why there?” he wrinkled his nose.

She smiled, “I’m friends with the  proprietor .” 

“Just when I think I have you all figured out Granger, you spring something like on me.”

“Hermione.”

“What?”

“Hermione. Call me Hermione.”

They stared at each other for a minute, Draco looked away first.

“Hermione.”

Hermione stood and started toward her bedroom. “Good night Draco.” 

When she looked over her shoulder, he was still sitting, staring at the fire. But a smile was playing around the corners of his mouth .

The next day when Hermione got back to the common room after class, another package without a return address was waiting for her. She pulled out her wand and  cast  her standard detection spells. Once she confirmed that the package and contents weren’t cursed, she pulled her dragon hide gloves from her potions kit and opened the box. Inside was a bundle of dead flowers tied with a black ribbon . A piece of parchment was folded alongside it. Hand s shaking , Hermione picked it up. In ink the dark color of dried blood she read:

_ She stands by the pool saying, from time to time, _

**_I was abducted_** _, but it sounds_   
_wrong to her, nothing like what she felt._   
_Then she says,_ ** _I was not abducted._**   
_Then she says,_ ** _I offered myself, I wanted_**   
**_to escape my body_** ** _._** _Even, sometimes,_   
**_I willed this_** ** _._**   
_But ignorance_ _cannot will knowledge._   
_Ignorance_ _wills something imagined, which it believes exists._

**_ How long can you run from Death little girl? _ **

Hermione’s legs shook and then gave out under her. The room began to spin and her breaths were coming too fast.  _ No. I will  _ **_ not  _ ** _ faint.  _ Hermione put her head between her knees and took deep breaths. Once she felt more stable, she pulled the box from the table down to her. Leaning in close, Hermione inspected the flowers.  L ilies and poppies, with branches of dead leaves. She couldn’t think, the walls were closing in again.

“Hermione? Hermione!”

Neville knelt next to her, “What’s happened?”

“McGonagall.” Hermione managed to get out, “Harry!”

But Neville wouldn’t leave her side, “I can’t leave you alone! Not after last time!”

Luckily Tracey was next through the portrait. As soon as she saw them on the floor with the open package, she immediately pulled out her wand. 

“Tracey go get Professor McGonagall! I’ll stay with Hermione.” Neville waved Tracey off and started inspecting Hermione for injuries.

“Did you touch anything? What happened?”

Hermione shook her head, “It wasn’t cursed or anything and I haven’t touched anything except for the note.”

Neville let out a stream of curses that had Hermione blinking in shock. “Neville!”

Not remotely embarrassed by his outburst Neville turned towards the flowers. “Fire lilies and poppies? At this time of year?”

“Do they mean something to you?”

He shook his head, “They aren’t especially magical or exotic, are they? Though, in flower language...”

Neville quickly pushed the box away from them and urged Hermione to put the note back. 

“What is it Neville?”

“Orange lilies are for hatred and poppies are for eternal sleep. Whoever sent these-”

“ Really wants me dead.”

“Yeah.”

When Professor McGonagall arrived, Kingsley was with her and both of them had their wands drawn.

“Hermione! What’s happened? Miss Davies didn’t say.”

“I’ve had another package and note.”

They inspected the  package and the contents. Professor McGonagall shook her head,

“How did this get through the wards?”

“There’s nothing on it that would be considered dangerous.” Kingsley muttered inspecting the note closely, “No hexes or curses. No poisons. It’s just what it looks like. A package of dried, dead flowers and a note.” Turning to Hermione he asked, “Did you see the owl that left it?”

Hermione shook her head, “I’ve been having all my mail left in the common room since I got bags of letters at the start of the term.”

“No way to trace the bird then.” Kingsley sighed and collected the package. “I’ll have to take this back to the  auror’s office. I’d suggest having a word with the house elves Professor. Maybe they know something.”

“Yes of course. Hermione, are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Hermione stood then “What about the note?”

“We’ll have to get it analyzed. See if there ’ s a hidden code.”

“Sir,” Neville said addressing Kingsley , “The flowers.”

“What about them?”

“They,  well  they’re fire lilies and poppies. In flower language, they mean hatred and eternal sleep or... death.”

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Longbottom.”  Kingsley looked around the room and said, “I’ll do a quick sweep of the dormitory just to be safe. But I suspect this was just meant to shake everyone up. I doubt there’s anything else nasty hidden in here.”

Hermione sat on the couch between Tracey and Neville while Kingsley went through the rooms. The rest of the eighth years returned from dinner while he was performing his search. When Susan Bones heard what was going on, she turned white and left immediately. Ernie went after her and  Su Li left for the Ravenclaw tower as well.

Pansy folded her arms and glowered at their retreating backs. 

“Weaklings.” she spat

Pansy’s tone was venomous but Hermione noticed she looked a bit pale. 

“Can’t really blame them,” Morag offered, “Especially not Susan.”

“I don’t see you leaving.” Pansy retorted 

“Of course not.” Morag took Tracey’s hand. Then turning to Hermione Morag asked, “So, what do you want to do?”

Hermione looked down briefly thinking and then she said, “I’m going to fight.”


End file.
